Avatar: The Darkness Awakens
by AvatarBeau96
Summary: In the sequel of Avatar The Dawning of Darkness, a dark spirit reemerges to plot against Aang, Katara, and Nianzu, the airbending great-nephew of Avatar Aang. They thought that the Dark Spirits of Manarki were gone, but it was only just the beginning. The Darkness Awakens to throw the world out of balance, and this time it's personal. Multi-chapter; Kataang.
1. Beginning Again

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.**

 **Author's Note: It's been nearly three years since I finished** _ **Avatar: The Dawning of Darkness**_ **; I had promised everyone two sequels, but I only got to writing the first chapter of the first sequel before shutting down and going in the dark in terms of writing. I haven't written a word on here in forever. However, I did get to the point of RPing on a regular basis with some friends online. Anyways, I recently re-watched all of Avatar and Korra, and read some fanfictions, and reread my own** _ **Dawning of Darkness**_ **. Now, I've decided to keep my promise. But this time, I'm just going to stick with finishing the First sequel, then we'll see if a second comes into mind. If you haven't read** _ **Avatar: The Dawning of Darkness**_ **yet, and do not wish to read it (I'd understand; it's 51 chapters and over 300,000 words), I will be providing a full summary of the story at the end of this chapter. Otherwise, anything important from the last story that ends up becoming important in this story will be explained.**

 **Ages are as Follows: Aang: 18, Katara: 20, Sokka: 21, Nianzu: 30, and so on.**

 **Now then, let's get on with the sequel. Get ready for…**

* * *

 **Avatar: The Darkness Awakens**

 **Chapter 1:  
** **Beginning Again**

 _The sky was black, covered by hundreds of dark clouds mercilessly attacking the Earth with rain; roars of thunder could be heard for miles as lightening danced through the air. The surrounding mountains were crumbling beneath themselves, hundreds of tons of boulders rolled down and crushed anything in their paths, before striking the damaged city below, destroying dozens of homes, shops, restaurants, and other various buildings. Only the eastern side of this small city had been scarred, that is, until the remnants of one of the Fire Nation's Elite Class airships descended down with the rest of the mountain. It crushed nearly the entire city, eliciting a mighty boom as it finally came to a halt, the bits and pieces that broke away joined with the rain as they showered the area. The entire town was, luckily, deserted…but was now nothing more than the aftermath of a full-scale war. Hardly anything was left standing, apart from the few lucky structures on the western side of the city, only barely touched but still damaged nonetheless._

 _Joining the rain and the lightening in the air, a human was left floating in midair, levitated by two spurts of yellow energy beneath his feet. His eyes glowed the same energy that kept him suspended. His head was found tilting downward, glaring at the seas crashing against the cliffs just outside of the town, the rocks crushing each of the waves and breaking them down. A burst of water that reached at least a hundred feet into the air spewed out of the sea as a creature of black and violet met its very end. The human was left with an aiming look on his face, serious as could be. He slowly descended towards the water, half expecting his nemesis to come bursting out, ready to continue their conflict. He was left nearly convinced that his earlier attacks had finished the self-appointed "Lord", and that the battle between them was finally over, but until he was absolutely sure that this was true, he could not turn his back._

 _Nianzu was not even mostly aware of his current abilities, or how he was possessing them. It was only his will that controlled the energy that kept him propelled in the air, and the attacks that may have finally finished the Spirit that had been torturing him since near birth. He had been on the brink of corruption when something inside him took over, something deep and far more powerful than he could have ever imagined. He felt an incredible surge of power and emotion, his anger and pain transformed into raw energy that now gave him this possession of power that he never thought possible._

 _Just as Nianzu was about satisfied that the Dark Lord was finally put to an end, something whipped out from the stormed ocean, wrapping its length around Nianzu's ankle, reaching up his leg and finally grasping tightly around his thigh. The contact broke his connection to whatever he was channeling; his eyes ceased glowing and returned to being gray, his feet no longer emitting the energy that kept him suspended for so long. As a loud scream escaped his gaping mouth, he was ripped from the air and was pulled into the ocean, his body crashing into the waves so strongly he lost all feeling in his body, going numb. The freezing temperatures of the water did nothing to help, as it became harder and harder to keep his eyes open, much less to think of a way out of his situation. As he was dragged deeper, it became obvious what the source of this was. Not even seconds later, he was face to face with Tomark once again, but this was nothing like before. Along with his eyes glowing an intense violet, his face was shriveled and distorted, his teeth longer and sharper, his mouth open at least three times wider than he'd ever seen it, releasing an ear-piercing shriek that left Nianzu nearly deaf. Although they were underwater, the shrill cry was heard as though they were on land. His hands grasped the sides of Nianzu's head, the claws sinking into his skull. The man opened his mouth to scream in agony, but was eventually replaced by numerous appendages, shaped exactly like tentacles, as they slithered down into his throat, choking him but also at the same time…they were pulling something from him… from out of him._

" _Darkness will always be at war inside you, Nianzu… give up. Give in to it, and reach your full potential…" Tomark softly ordered him, his voice more terrifying than ever. Nianzu had never been truly afraid of Tomark…until this very moment. The dark spirit removed the limbs from the man's throat, but as soon as he had done so, Tomark opened wide his mouth once more, wider than even before, and lunged at Nianzu, engulfing his body instantly…_

 _Nianzu felt nothing…but the energy that had given him power just earlier, was now destroying him from the inside out. He was forced to submit, to become everything Tomark had ever wanted from him: to become a Manarki._

* * *

Nianzu's body heaved forward from his bed with a shout; the sheets that covered him came flying off as his sweating body jerked from slumber. His heart was pounding against his chest, his entire body quivering and his breath shivering uncontrollably. His hair was damp from the sweat as it dripped down his face. He brought his hands up and wiped himself of the perspiration. He slowly began to control his breathing, realizing that it had been nothing but a nightmare. It was almost an exact replica of his final battle with Tomark… except Nianzu had destroyed him, not the other way around. The nightmares had been recurring more lately, and this one was entirely different. It felt real. In his other nightmares, Nianzu often instead dreamed of his fight with Tomark.

As Nianzu was finally able to control his breathing, he was able to calm down. He covered his face with his hands once more, wiping off the rest of the sweat. Why wouldn't they stop…? The nightmares had been going on for nearly nine months now, and each one seemed to become worse and worse. This latest dream was now the apex of those. He didn't understand, though, why these dreams were haunting him. Tomark was destroyed, the world was safe, and since then, things seemed to have been going well for them all. Well…for the most part. Nianzu began to wonder if perhaps the results of their battle against the Manarki was what caused his nightmares. While Tomark was destroyed, the Manarki was not entirely destroyed with them. The White Lotus were vigorously searching every corner of the planet for the remnants of the Manarki's army. If that wasn't enough, Nianzu, Aang, and the others had been informed only two weeks after Yuan had been arrested that he somehow escaped his prison, without a trace. Aang and Katara immediately went on the defensive. Yuan had a personal grudge against them both, and with Katara's unexpected pregnancy, they half expected the human-turned-Manarki spirit to come after them. The Order of the White Lotus offered to help ensure their safety, and for the last few months, the Avatar and his family had been guarded by some of the Order's most highly trained and skilled Sentries. However, because of this, the White Lotus was forced to drop their secretive ways, and become more open to the rest of the World, but never stopped clinging to their secrets. The Manarki, per Nianzu's request and to the agreement of each of the Grand Lotuses, were kept from public knowledge.

Nianzu finally was able to lie back down onto his pillow, but sleep was nothing but a wish at this point. His mind was too active, thinking back on the events of the past few months as he lay awake in his room. Once Nianzu came out to the world beside Aang, things had not been so smoothly for him. Much of Ba Sing Se and the Fire Nation regarded Nianzu as a traitor, a criminal, and Aang had received the blunt of the criticisms, the world demanding how the Avatar could forgive someone so corrupt and despicable. However, while they criticized Avatar Aang in great amounts, he assured them that Nianzu would be under constant watch. At first, Aang was against this, arguing that Nianzu deserved freedom for his actions as anyone else would, but after discussions between him, Iroh, Katara and Hakoda, the monk finally gave in and agreed, with one condition—Nianzu was to live with them, with no restraints. As his Uncle, Aang demanded that his great-nephew be treated fairly in their eyes, even if the rest of the world didn't agree. This alone caused some discomforting disagreements between Aang and fiancé of the time. Katara still had been partial to the belief that Nianzu couldn't be trusted, and to allow him to live in their home, so close to her while she was pregnant? It resulted in more than their fair share of arguments, but when Hakoda and even Sokka supported the proposition, Katara knew she was fighting a losing battle. Her only request was that Nianzu be kept separated from the rest of them while they slept. He was free to join them during meals and other activities, should he obey all their rules and customs. Nianzu agreed, albeit the fact that Nianzu had asked for none of this special treatment. Of course, Aang was always there to reassure Nianzu that they were family, and that family looked out for one another. Since then, Aang, Katara, Hakoda, Sokka and Nianzu had returned to the Southern Water Tribe, and its growing capital, Harbor City.

Since Aang and Katara's departure from the Southern Tribe in search for Nianzu, the city had been able to grow larger and become more extravagant. At the edge of the city was now the Southern Water Tribe Royal Palace, where Hakoda, as chief of the Tribe, and his family could live once they returned. The palace had dozens more rooms than their home had before their leave over a year ago. It was the ultimate definition of the word "upgrade". Due to this, the White Lotus sentries that were tasked to guard the Avatar, chief, and the rest of the family could easily rotate shifts as they had their own quarters in the palace. The chief had his own room, along with his children and his new son-in-law. Katara and Aang had become accustomed to sleeping together since their engagement and recent wedding. With Katara's pregnancy reaching its end, Hakoda insisted she have the largest room in the palace; the chief's room. Hakoda would be close by, with Ekna only a few rooms away. Before Ekna had been assigned to oversee Hakoda after being attacked in Gaoling, the nonbending physician was in the employment of the Beifong Estate, seeing to their health, and was even present to guide Poppy in her birthing of Toph. Years had passed since then, and in just the past year she'd become Team Avatar's primary physician. She had even been the one to reveal to Katara her own pregnancy, and since was the only one Katara trusted to keep her up to date on her unborn child's health, despite not being a healer. She would be close by so that when the child was ready to be born, Ekna would be right by her side to guide her. It was only a matter of time before that time came…

Nianzu laid in his bed for several hours more, contemplating everything now. Sleep was now a wasted effort. His thoughts jumped from one subject to the next, before finally settling on getting up and going for a walk. He wasn't going to get back to sleep anyways, and his mind was as active as ever. A quiet walk may be just what he needed to get his mind off things. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, his feet resting on the wooden floor. He kept his body agile and alert, as shown by his impressive muscle tone and abs protruding from his chest. He was just beginning to stand when a cry echoed through the palace's halls. Nianzu became instantly alert, coming to a full frame and grabbing a nearby Water Tribe robe to cover himself. The scream was that of a woman's; that much was certain. Not even Sokka could have screamed like that if he'd seen the scariest thing ever. Not only that, it was a scream of agony, not fear. It sounded strained, signifying the source was in a great deal of pain. As Nianzu threw open his room's door, two of the White Lotus Sentries guarding the room were already alert.

Nianzu questioned them immediately, demanding to know why they weren't investigating, "Where is that scream coming from?" he asked quizzically.

One of the Sentries spoke up, turning his gaze to the airbender, "It's coming from the upper floor, sir. Please, go back to your quarters; we'll handle whatever the disturbance is."

Nianzu raised a brow at them just before another scream crippled the hallways, awaking more and more sleeping White Lotus Sentries. Nianzu closed his door and began rushing towards the nearest staircase. The sentry he'd just spoken to demanded to know where he was going.

"That scream can only be coming from one woman…" he told them, knowing immediately his destination.

As Nianzu spiraled up the staircase and onto the top floor, his suspicions proved true. He found Katara and Aang up against the wall next to their bedroom, both draped in their evening robes. Katara was using the wall as support, while Aang was helping to keep her standing. Katara's eyes were clenched shut, her teeth grinding against each other as she struggled to hold in the pain. Hakoda came running past Nianzu, closely followed by Sokka. Once they reached the couple Hakoda immediately placed Katara's other arm around his shoulder, helping Aang to get her back on his feet and guide her back into their room. The father of the pregnant daughter turned to his son, who was closely behind them in case they needed his help.

"Son, go fetch Ekna. If she isn't awake yet, get her up. We're going to need her. It's time," the chief told Sokka. He tried to keep his voice calm, but Nianzu could hear the shakiness in it. It was no secret that while the chief supported Aang and Katara's relationship, he still did not know exactly how he felt about becoming a grandfather so soon. Still, the time was nigh and there was no way around it now. Sokka heeded his father's wish and went sprinting down the hall to find the physician. Nianzu only watched as this all went down. What was he supposed to do…? There was nothing he _had_ to do, but standing around watching wasn't an option either. Once Sokka had brought Ekna to the room where Katara, Aang and Hakoda were getting ready for the child's arrival, Nianzu quickly approached her.

"What do you need?" he asked her, his expression and voice matched perfectly; he was focused and ready to help however he could.

Ekna, still carrying her medical bag over her shoulder, turned to him, and was glad to hear his offer to help. "Gather up some rags and find me some water," she ordered him. "That last part shouldn't be too hard." Nianzu nodded and rushed off to get what she requested. He returned only minutes later with a bucket full of water and plenty of rags. Ekna ordered him to bring them into the room with her, and set them down beside her.

"What should I do?" Aang asked, his tone mixed with worry and anxiousness.

Ekna smiled to him softly, gesturing him to Katara. "You just hold your wife's hand. Give her company. She's gonna need it. Keep her calm, keep her breathing under control, okay? Can you do that for me?" Aang simply nodded and turned his attention to Katara, who was beginning to scream even louder as her contractions became further apart. The monk kept her hand firmly in his as he began to speak soothing words into her ear, trying his best not to only keep her calm, but himself. This was more intense than he'd ever imagined. He was way too new to all of this, even since the conception of it all. He barely knew if what he was doing was right, but he knew to stick to his instinct.

"Just take deep breaths, okay, Sweetie?" he instructed her, giving her a few examples. She nodded softly and did as she was asked. As many children as she had helped deliver in the past, actually experiencing it herself was an entirely new scenario. As Ekna began to get to work, she ordered everyone but Aang to leave the room. Hakoda argued that he had a right to stay, that he was her father and that Kya would want him to be here for this moment. Ekna reluctantly agreed, seeing there was no reason to fight over the matter.

"Okay, Katara," Ekna began as she situated between the waterbender's legs, "I need you to push for me. Push real hard, sweetie." Katara nodded softly, biting her bottom lip and squeezing Aang's hand with all the strength she could muster as she began to push. Another agonizing scream escaped her lips as the pain came stronger than before, more than she could have even imagined before this moment.

* * *

Hours had passed since they had left the room. The sun was finally perching its glare into the palace, lighting up some of the rooms. Sokka, Nianzu, Kanna, and Pakku all sat in a nearby room. They could hear every scream coming from the fierce waterbender. Sokka joked to himself that he was shocked the South Pole was even still intact. Katara was always her most powerful when she was angry or emotional, and from what he was hearing emanate from the other room, this was the pinnacle of such. He wondered how much longer it would last… every cry pulled at his heart more and more. If he didn't know any better, he would confuse it as his baby sister being tortured. In a way, he guessed it must be similar, considering all the evidence he was being presented. How much longer would it last? He was circling the room just waiting for it to be over, for the yelling to stop. He began to stroke his growing beard as time went on further than he even anticipated. How long was this going to take? It'd been nearly four hours since they'd all been woken up from their slumber to the sound of Katara's shrieks, and it sounded like no end was in sight.

The door slowly opened and Ekna poked her head in, her smile warm and inviting as she looked into the room. "Everyone, it's time. Come meet the new addition to your family."

Sokka was the first to rush out the door, brushing past Ekna and down the hall to his sister's room. He immediately burst through the door separating him from the rest of his family. His attention was immediately captured by his sister and Aang. She was positioned upright against the bedframe, holding her toweled infant in her arms as Aang hovered over her, admiring his newborn child. There was a glowing to them both, their faces seemed calm but their smiles were filled with joy. Hakoda sat in the corner, watching them as he gestured for Sokka to come closer. The warrior took short steps as he came closer to the bed, hardly able to speak, or even find the words he wanted to say. Finally, as he was only a few feet away from the couple, he forced out only a few words.

"So…is it…um…a boy or a girl?" He shrugged his shoulders sheepishly as he managed to form a smile.

Katara raised her gaze to him, her royal blue eyes glistening. She'd clearly been crying, but at this point, it was clear they were tears of joy. Her eyes met his as she spoke softly, "Sokka, meet your nephew."

Sokka gulped loudly as he slowly began to walk towards them again. Aang motioned for him to sit on the edge of the bed with him. The warrior nodded softly and did so, careful as to not get too close to his sister as he knew she was most definitely still aching from the birthing. The new mother slowly began to pass her infant over to her brother, who was now shaking in his skin. He didn't want to hurt him, or hold him wrong, or make him cry or anything. Aang helped Sokka position his arms just right so that the infant's head was tilted just right in the warrior's arms. He himself began to admire the child. His eyes were nearly a mix between Aang's gray eyes and Katara's blue eyes, a perfect combination. His skin tone was a light tan, lighter than Katara's skin but also darker than Aang's. Sokka chalked it up as yet another mix of the parents' features. The child looked up at his uncle and made out what he considered to be a smile. The older man's head tilted softly as he began to stroke the baby's cheek, eliciting a soft giggle from the small bundle.

The nonbender raised his head to meet the gazes of the two parents as he spoke softly to them, "What are you going to name him?"

The couple exchanged glances, smiling at another before returning their gaze to their child's uncle. "We've decided to name him…Bumi," Katara revealed, her voice soft and cracking slightly.

Sokka chuckled and smiled softly, "He does look like he's gonna turn out to be a bit of a wacko, doesn't he?" he teased with a smirk.

"Hey now, wackos are pretty wise…and strong," Aang interjected before chuckling softly, but quickly diminishing as he remembered his old friend, who had passed away of old age only a few months ago. Sokka slowly and gently returned the infant to his father's arms. He could feel Aang shaking with emotion, tears welling up in his eyes that he tried to hold back. It made Sokka only smile more, resting a comforting hand on his best friend's shoulder.

"You're going to be fine with him, Aang," he assured the airbender with a smile.

After some time had passed, Hakoda was given his chance to admire his new grandson, and we wasted no time in welcoming him into the world. He retook his seat in the corner as he carefully held the child. He began to reminisce on the day Katara was born, how he held her, how he felt when he first saw her face. Sokka himself had still been so young, and he remembered how the two first interacted. Being only a year old, Sokka was entirely fascinated in his little sister, how alike she'd looked to him. Hakoda was thankful for those memories, of when his family was still whole. He could only imagine how Kya might have been reacting to all of this if she were still here. He could almost see her himself, there sitting on the bed opposite Aang, congratulating her daughter on her successful pregnancy. The chief smiled as Kanna and Pakku brought him out of his daydreaming, settling beside him to finally get their own look at the newborn.

As this all happened, Nianzu stood in the corner, resting against the wall with one foot planted against it, his arms crossed while his eyes glided over the room several times. They'd been waiting for this moment for nearly nine months, since the day the air and waterbender announced the pregnancy back in Ba Sing Se. So much had changed since then, but he couldn't help but wonder how much _he_ had changed since then. He could not help but to think back on what Katara had warned him at the Jasmine Dragon just before they came back to the Southern Tribe, the threats she made against him, her promise to shove aside the majority of her aggression towards him for the Aang's sake, and the promise she made to him should harm ever come to her child because of him. However, in the last three months, he and Katara were beginning to become closer, albeit slowly, but indeed surely. Since the White Lotus' search for the Manarki and Yuan, Aang, Sokka and Hakoda were constantly being called to meetings. Despite being the one who had brought down Tomark, they always insisted Nianzu be absent from the councils, much to the Avatar's disapproval, but Nianzu always assured that he was fine with it. After all, he had no interest in the politics. If they had a lead, they would give it to him. Simple as that. The only reason Sokka attended was at the request of Hakoda, who encouraged that his son start to become accustomed to such political meetings if he was to one day become Chief of the Tribe. Due to Katara's pregnancy, she almost always stayed behind as well, leaving her with her grandparents, Nianzu, and the sentries. Nianzu began to offer his assistance to the pregnant waterbender with whatever she needed. Not to prove anything to her… the last thing he wanted was to try and manipulate her thoughts of him with kind actions. He simply did so because it was the right thing to do. Though it wasn't his intention, Katara began showing more and more appreciation in his efforts as time went on, and had even personally requested he be moved to a room closer to hers and Aang's. Aang himself was surprised to return home and find Nianzu on the floor just below theirs, but accepted it nonetheless. He was glad to see he and Katara were starting to get along better. The whole ordeal was beginning to feel like her and Zuko all over again, only with more hostility.

The older airbender was brought out of his thoughts when Hakoda motioned for everyone to leave the room so that Katara could rest. Aang and Bumi were the only ones left at the head of the bed. Ekna told them that she would be back in a few minutes to check in on them. Once she had left the room, Nianzu followed closely behind her when a voice stopped him.

"Get over here, Nianzu…" Katara instructed him softly, her smile still glowing as she was now holding Bumi in her arms once again, rocking him slowly back and forth in hopes to keep him from crying again. Nianzu was at first taken aback by this request, but nonetheless turned back around and slowly approached them, curious as to why he was being summoned by them. He cocked his head softly to the side as he stood beside them all, trying to find the words he was going to say next. Before he could even muster up a single sentence, Katara spoke for him. "Would you like to hold your _Godson_?"

Nianzu became choked up, taken back by those simple words. He actually found himself taking a step back. Had his ears actually heard that right? If he was at a loss for words before, his brain was now going into overload just trying to remember how to breathe. After a few seconds he was able to bring control over himself, and pointed a finger towards his face, "M-me?" he asked, confused.

Katara nodded softly to him, "Aang and I had been talking lately. Our lives have always been in danger…" she began, but was immediately interrupted by her husband.

"…and with me being the Avatar, I'm worried that they always will be. I want someone to be there to protect our child should anything happen to us," Aang interjected.

Nianzu was still in partial shock as he began to question their decision. "W-what about Sokka? I'm sure he's more than qualified to do that, more than me. I mean, he's his uncle. I'm sure he would do anything to protect him."

"I know he would," Aang assured his great nephew, "but after everything that's happened, if Bumi ends up being an airbender…and should anything happen to me… I want him to have someone who can teach him our ways, our history…" the Avatar explained. "Plus…if there's anything I know for sure, it is that Bumi wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you. You saved me, more than once, Nianzu, and I know you would protect him just as you would anyone else in this home."

"If we end up having another child," Katara began, "then Sokka will be that child's godfather. We already made up our minds, Nianzu… We didn't make this decision lightly. Believe me…you should know," she said with a slight smirk. Nianzu thought that Katara was only beginning to tolerate him, but with all this happening…maybe he'd somehow gained her trust. He didn't know how, he didn't know why…but he accepted it. Denying was futile. The man nodded and approached them again, settling on the edge of the bed beside Aang as Katara slowly began to pass Bumi over to his godfather. Within seconds of holding his godson, a smile crept across his face. It was the most real smile he'd made in such a long time. He never thought that actually holding Bumi would give him this kind of reaction. It was an entirely different experience. He had never held a baby before, much less one that was related to him. It gave him a purpose. He wasn't just going to be the fall guy for Aang's son. He knew in his heart at that moment, that he would be an intricate part of Bumi's life growing up. He would be there for him, his best friend.

"I won't ever let anything happen to you, buddy…" Nianzu whispered to the infant, who was now looking up at his cousin with the giddiest expression, reaching out for the man's beard. "I'll protect you, no matter what… I promise you."

All of a sudden, Bumi began crying loudly, his eyes instantly welling up with tears that dripped down his cheeks only to be soaked up by the blanket surrounding him. At first Nianzu thought he had somehow discomforted him. Maybe he shifted his arms the wrong way, maybe he didn't support his head well enough. He didn't know what it was, but soon the room was filled with Bumi's uncontrollable cries. He was quickly sent back into his mother's arms, hoping it would help to calm him down as she rocked him gently and spoke gentle words to him. But to no avail. Aang even tried making funny faces or showing him some small airbending tricks, but nothing seemed to please the infant. Katara guessed that he may be hungry, so Nianzu decided to leave the room, allowing Ekna to return to the couple's side. As Nianzu passed the door, he felt an odd surge pulse through his body…almost like a chill swept down his spine. But that wasn't it. This felt stronger, different somehow. After a moment of pondering, it felt familiar too. His eyes scanned the area, to the halls surrounding him to the room behind him. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary, nothing but Bumi's wailing which was practically unexplained. At this point it was simple being chalked off as a minor discomfort that the child didn't yet understand. Still…it didn't settle right with Nianzu… Something was _not right_.

Unbeknownst to everyone, a shadow was lurking over the crying child. It was like a cloud of dark smoke, floating in midair. No one could see it, no one could feel it. It didn't exist to them; but to Bumi, the figure was the definition of fear. Somehow he could see this darkness looming over him, surrounding him, gliding back and forth around him as his parents and Ekna simply went straight through it.

 _Child of the Avatar, spawn of the humans…but with a spirit so pure, uncorrupted… But not for long. You will serve me nicely, Bumi…_

* * *

 **And so, that's the first chapter of Avatar: The Darkness Awakens. I'm very pleased with how this chapter turned out and hope you all enjoyed it too. I wanted the story to mostly help fill everyone in on where our heroes on now, while also getting straight into the plot of the story. One mistake I made with The Dawning of Darkness was dragging on the opening for far too long, nearly five chapters. So this time, I think I got a decent balance of opening and moving forward. If you haven't read The Dawning of Darkness yet, and went ahead to read this chapter, I hope you still enjoyed it and will read more. As promised in the Author's note above, I will provide a summary of _Avatar: The Dawning of Darkness_ so that those who have not read it do not feel forced to read such a long story in order to read this one, or you can simply read this one as it is. It is everyone's choice. Enjoy :)**

* * *

 _ **Previously, on Avatar...**_

 _Avatar: The Dawning of Darkness_ begins in a prologue taking place before the beginning of the Hundred Year War, at Aang's home at the Southern Air Temple. Instead of following Aang, the chapter follows his close friend, Sojin, who was a little over a year younger than Aang, and his escape from the Temple and the Fire Nation's armies following their attacks that began the War. Sojin is able to escape to Kyoshi Island on his bison and supposedly survives to live out the rest of his days in the Earth Kingdom. 103 Years Later, it has been 3 years since the end of the Hundred Year War and Yu Dao is on its way to becoming Republic City in the future. Aang and Katara live peaceful in the Southern Water Tribe with Sokka and Hakoda. The first few chapters mostly detail how the couple goes about their daily lives with the world seemingly at peace. However, in Chapter 5, new characters are portrayed. They are an Earthbender named Shin, a Firebender named Lu Ten (not Iroh's son), a Waterbender named Varun, and finally, a new Airbender named Nianzu. Nianzu is led to believe he developed his Airbending abilities when he was in his early teens as a way for the world to come back into balance in the event the last known Airbender, Avatar Aang, was never found. However, instead of sharing his ability with the Avatar, Nianzu is on a mission to find out how the Spirits were able to give him the ability to bend. His journey takes him to Gaoling, where Hakoda is visiting for a meeting. Unknown to Shin and Lu Ten, Hakoda once encountered Nianzu and Varun during the war before the Avatar returned. Nianzu reflects that during a Fire Nation raid on a village, Hakoda and his warriors attempted to drive back the Fire Nation. Varun and Nianzu, using his swordsman skills instead of bending, helped the warriors, but they were soon all ambushed. Hakoda was forced to retreat, but the two benders were surrounded. Hakoda had to fall back and could not save the two who had aided them. The Southern warriors retreated on their boats and Nianzu and Varun were left at the mercy of the Fire Nation. They had been able to escape, but the two never forgave Hakoda for his betrayal despite how they saved him and his friends. Nianzu, feeling an incredible surge of anger, leads an attack on Hakoda that leaves him nearly dead, prompting Aang and Katara to leave their home to be with Hakoda and track down his attackers.

Nianzu continues his journey and in his sleep one night receives visions of Spirits, who offer their assistance in Nianzu's quest, provided he free them. He is then tasked to collect the Four Elemental Gems of the Physical World, one of which was embedded in Hakoda's necklace that Nianzu had stolen as a trophy. Nianzu is given the locations of each of the Four Elemental Gems, and the first to find is the Gem of Earth in The Cave of Two Lovers and the Gem of Fire located in the Dragon Bone Catacombs of the Fire Nation Capital City. Due to Lu Ten's diverse knowledge of the Fire Nation, they are easily able to steal the Gem, but are faced with Fire Lord Zuko. The four benders escape the Fire Lord and eventually make it out of the Capital City unharmed. Zuko then contacts Aang and lets him know of the attack, and reveals that out of his attacks, one was an Airbender that resembled Hakoda's attacker. Aang is shocked to find out another Airbender exists, and hopes to figure out why he has been attacking people. Nianzu is then shown that Aang holds the final Relic containing the Gem of Air, embedded in his necklace. He waits for the Avatar to come to the Fire Nation, and he finds an opportunity with Aang alone with Sokka, he strikes. He uses a mix of his swordsman skills and his airbending and is able to subdue Aang long enough to steal his necklace. Nianzu barely escapes the two and regroups with his friends, and that night is given a new dream from the Spirits to go to the site of Wan Shi Tong's library. The four are given an Airship by one of Lu Ten's friends, unknown of their involvement in the recent attacks. They then proceed to the Desert and find the planetarium still intact despite the rest of the library being primarily buried.

Unknown to Nianzu and his friends, the Spirits that have been contacting Nianzu are truly an ancient race of Dark Spirits known as the Manarki, imprisoned thousands of years ago. They escape their prison in preparation for leaving the Spirit World for good and wreaking havoc on the Physical World. Nianzu and others place the gems on the calendar and turn the tiles to represent that day's date, the day of the Summer Solstice. A portal is then opened and the Manarki are able to escape, with four of them taking over each member of Nianzu's team while the rest spread out over the world until told otherwise. Tomark, one of the more powerful Manarki Spirits, takes over Nianzu's body and forces him and his team to attack the Avatar. Unknown to them, another Spirit escapes the Spirit World, dressed in familiar clothing and wearing the mask of the Blue Spirit. Aang ends up in Ba Sing Se, expecting that to be Nianzu's next location of attack. He ends up being right and Nianzu and his team arrive, their bending stronger than ever before due to the influx of energy from the Manarki taking over their bodies. Aang is initially able to hold back the four attackers, with Katara joining in to help him. However, Tomark uses the obvious connection between Aang and Katara and uses Nianzu's body to attack Katara. Katara is already busy dealing with one of the other benders, and Aang realizes he has no time to bring up a barrier. He forces himself into the path of the dagger, and is mortally wounded. Nianzu and his group escapes, leaving Katara to hold Aang's body as he slowly appears to pass away.

Following Aang's death, Katara deals with weeks of depression and unbearable coping. Eventually Hakoda is nursed back to health and goes to Ba Sing Se to help his daughter during her time of grief. Eventually, Katara befriends a firebender named Yuan making a new life for himself in Ba Sing Se. Yuan becomes attracted to Katara, and hopes to become her new lover. Katara begins receiving various visits from the masked man wearing the Blue Spirit Mask, who has no memory of who he is or how he got there, but somehow remembers Katara fine. As Katara is preparing to leave Ba Sing Se, she meets with Yuan a final time to tell him she is leaving, but Yuan reveals he wants Katara for himself. She denies his attempts to kiss her, but he reveals more than his pretty face. He ends up attacking Katara, binding her arms so that she cannot bend. Before Yuan can go farther, he is attacked by the Masked Man. Despite Katara's insistence to help, the man denies it and orders her to return home. The Masked Man and Yuan fight, and eventually the firebender finds himself under the collapse of a wooden fire escape the the Masked Man brings down on top of him, killing Yuan. Later that night, the Masked Man discovers who he is, and loses the mask. He reveals his face to Katara. The Masked Man is actually Jet's spirit, manifesting in Physical Form since his escape from the Spirit World.

While this all happens, Tomark leaves Nianzu and friends' bodies and imprisons them. The other three Manarki fuse with Tomark and become an all-powerful Manarki spirit. Nianzu is left with memory of all his actions and begins to realize he had been controlled by Tomark and the others for all this time, including his attack on Hakoda just so he could grab the Gem of Water from the chief. He begins to melt down with the guilt of his actions. Tomark leads his stolen airship to the Sun Warriors' Temple, using the Dark Gem Tomark had used to aid his side of the escape from the Spirit World to corrupt the Golden Dragon egg placed at the center of the temple, transforming it into a Dragon of Darkness, named Axil (this was before it had been confirmed that this egg was going to be born as Zuko's dragon in LoK). The Manarki, along with their new Dragon, decide to bring Nianzu and Varun back to their home village of Kisha in order to prove that it is now the Manarki that control the world with the Avatar gone. They lay waste to the village and it's inhabitants, killing them all. Nianzu and his team are able to escape Tomark, but are left cornered in the barn of Nianzu's parents. They are able to wound Axil, destroying his eye, but he quickly lashes out and murders Nianzu's mother and father. In anger, Nianzu is able to use all the power he can to push back the Manarki and escape the barn. Lu Ten devised a plan to make the Manarki, and even the world, believe they had died by posing four victims of the attack in a burning home along with a piece of evidence from each of the four benders. The four were then able to escape, with the Manarki and Tomark believing that Nianzu and his friends had died in the fire. However, Tomark remained largely unconvinced, and awaited the return of Nianzu.

While in the Spirit World, Aang becomes summoned by Wan Shi Tong to be presented for the Sunachi, a group of Four Ancient Spirits representing each of the Four Elements. They reveal to Aang that the world still needs him, and that he is, in fact, not dead, but his spirit has been separated from his body, leaving his body to appear dead with the faintest of heartbeats. That night, in the Physical World, Katara and her friends and family visit Aang's burial ground to celebrate his 16th birthday, the year in which Katara and Aang had planned to get engaged. Later that night, Toph feels Aang's heartbeat and digs him up, discovering he is actually alive. In fear of Aang's safety, Toph brings Aang back to Gaoling where he will be safe until he heals. When Aang awakens, he is angered to find his being alive is being kept secret from Katara and the others, and, despite being encouraged not to, he leaves Gaoling and goes to Ba Sing Se. Meanwhile, Tomark feels the dark energy surrounding Yuan's spirit as it roams the Physical World. He brings Yuan to a city named Wishato that Tomark has seized as the starting point of his Kingdom, and offers him to become part Manarki so that he may exact his revenge. Yuan agrees and is corrupted by Tomark, turning him into a half-human/half-Manarki being. The Dark Lord then tasks Yuan to kill Aang's family after feeling his energy returning to the Physical World. Yuan accepts the task and heads to Ba Sing Se to end the remainder of Team Avatar.

Yuan, with combined powers of enhanced firebending and the abilities the Manarki hold, attacks Katara, Sokka, Zuko and Hakoda, and nearly is able to kill them all when Jet appears once again to help the others, but even he isn't enough to hold Yuan back this time. When it seems Yuan's abilities will be all he needs to finish Team Avatar, Aang suddenly reappears and attacks Yuan violently. Once he dispels Yuan, he collapses and is brought to Hakoda's penthouse, where it is revealed that Aang is harboring a significant amount of Dark Energy that is affecting his personality and trying to consume his Avatar Spirit. Meanwhile, Nianzu and the others are traveling back to Ba Sing Se under fake identities to tell Team Avatar of the Manarki and to admit their crimes. They find Toph along with her close friend and family physician, Ekna (who helped Hakoda after his attack in Gaoling), and follow her to the hotel where Hakoda is staying.

Nianzu decides to separate from the others to face Hakoda and his family. Hakoda is the one who answers and is immediately on the defensive, choking Nianzu against a wall until Nianzu expresses his guilt in tears. Hakoda becomes somewhat convinced, and Nianzu continues to express his guilt. Eventually, Hakoda becomes convinced of Nianzu's guilt, and allows him to express the guilt of his crimes to Katara and the others. Toph immediately imprisons him in rock and Katara lashes out at him. Aang overhears the arguing and awakes from his coma. In a trance-like state, Aang pulls both himself and Nianzu into the Spirit World, where they are brought to the Sunachi. They reveal that Nianzu is the great-grandson of Sojin, Aang's friend from before the Hundred Year War, and then reveals that Sojin was actually Aang's brother, making Nianzu Aang's great-great nephew. They then reveal the art of Energybending to Nianzu, who then uses the ability to purify Aang's spirit of the Dark Energy embedded in him by Tomark, and announce that Nianzu, through his many acts in life, can one day possess the full powers of Energybending. The Sunachi then tell them of Tomark's plans and his location. The two are then returned to their bodies in the Physical World where they tell the others of the Manarki's plans, and that they must all work together to defeat them.

While Nianzu and Aang were in the Spirit World, Varun, Lu Ten, and Shin also met with Team Avatar. The next day, they are told of Nianzu's relation to Aang, and that this is the true reason he is able to Airbend, and they all begin devising a plan to defeat Tomark and the Manarki. Iroh enlists the help of the White Lotus to aid the teams in their strike against Tomark's army of Manarki. A week later, a force of Airships and White Lotus sentries along with the two teams get ready to finish the Manarki in Wishato. Sokka, Hakoda, the White Lotus and Varun, Lu Ten, and Shin plan to take the battle on the ground against the Manarki forces and Axil. Sokka gives Nianzu a new sword, identical to his old one. Meanwhile, Aang, Katara and Nianzu split from the others to face Tomark and Yuan. When the fight begins, Tomark flees to his airship and Nianzu follows, leaving Aang and Katara to deal with Yuan.

Due to the power of the Winter Solstice, Yuan's power was increased (along with the rest of the Manarki), making him a formidable foe for the powerful couple. Their battle tipped in scales numerous times until Yuan was finally able to get the upper hand on the two, nearly snapping Aang's neck before Katara lashed out and unleashed an ability she never knew she had: psychic bloodbending. She was, luckily, able to release her grip on both Yuan _and_ Aang, and Yuan was then swiftly defeated and was put in custody by the White Lotus. Meanwhile, Nianzu chased after Tomark and boarded his airship. He headed to the control room and set the airship on a crash course towards a nearby mountain range. Nianzu then faced Tomark for the final time atop the ship, though instead of using bending, the two battled with blades. They were both equally matched until the airbender was able to sever both of Tomark's blades, but the dark lord then scarred Nianzu's face for life, and Tomark finally subdued Nianzu and attempted to corrupt the airbender for good. Before Tomark could succeed, a deep power rose from Nianzu and he was able to possess the full power of Energybending long enough to destroy the Dark Lord for good.

Upon the Manarki's defeat, the remaining forces retreated and left the rest of the world in peace. Katara was badly injured during her battle with Yuan, and went through an extensive healing process the weeks following the battle. She was then confirmed pregnant by Ekna, and soon after Aang kept his promise and asked for his girlfriend's hand in marriage, which she happily accepted. Nianzu and Aang then spoke about the use of energybending during the final battle, but Aang did not agree that Nianzu had unlocked the powers for good, nor had he opened his chakras. Instead, they both assumed the power came from when Nianzu's body had been seized by Tomark, and when he left his body, remnants of the Dark Lord's energy remained. Later that night, Iroh discussed with Nianzu's team that they would need to split up until enough time had passed, otherwise the world might attack them for their crimes should they be discovered alive. The teams celebrated their victory that night at the Jasmine Dragon where Katara faced Nianzu for a final time, explaining thoroughly that she had not forgiven him, but for Aang's sake would give him the chance to prove himself. In the epilogue of the story, Yuan has been imprisoned in a secret fortress run by the Order of the White Lotus. Although seemingly inescapable, Yuan was stolen from the facility by an even darker Spirit than Tomark, one that had become known as Erebus, the Spirit of Darkness and Shadows.

With that, _The Dawning of Darkness_ came to an end. For those that stuck around to read this summary, I appreciate it and hope you will be motivated to read the rest of _The Darkness Awakens_. Thank you all once again and I hope you enjoy the story.


	2. The Council Meeting

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.**

* * *

 _Last time on The Darkness Awakens…_

Nianzu has recurring nightmares about his final battle with Tomark.  
Katara gives birth to Bumi, her and Aang's first son.  
Aang and Katara announce Nianzu as Bumi's godfather.  
A dark entity frightens Bumi.

* * *

 **Chapter 2:  
** **The Council Meeting**

 _Ten Months Later…_

"Don't worry, he'll be fine with me," Ekna assured the couple as she took the ten-month-old Bumi into her arms. "I'm just as capable of caring for children as I am with delivering them. Who do you think helped Lao and Poppy raise Toph? They could barely wrap their minds around her blindness for the first few years," the physician explained with a comforting smile.

"Are you sure, Ekna? I can stay behind. I don't _have_ to attend the United Nations meeting," Katara insisted, crouching beside her to rest a loving hand on her son's head, brushing her fingers through his growing hair.

"United _Republic_ of Nations," Aang corrected her, resting his hand on her shoulder. "Bumi will be fine, Sweetie. Besides, you wanted this, remember? You've always been more interested in these meetings than I have," he explained to his worrying wife in an attempt to detach her from the child, if only for a few hours.

The four were currently situated in Bumi's nursery, which was directly connected to his parents' room via an oak door. The room was large and spacious, giving the couple plenty of room to play with their child and keep him entertained. In the middle of the room was a large circular rug with the elemental symbol for airbending sewn into the middle. Bumi's wooden amber crib was against the farthest wall of the room facing the door leading to the bedroom, while two circular windows on its right allowed for the flow of natural light as the sun was hitting its mid-afternoon peak. Against this wall were two dressers that held the baby's clothes and other accessories, such as the orange beanie with a blue arrow that sat on the edge of the dresser. The room also had several Water Tribe symbols carved into the walls. An assortment of stuffed animals were held in a toy chest right beside the rocking chair that Ekna currently sat in as she rocked the baby.

Despite telling Aang several times that she wanted to join him in the next World Meeting he had to be present for, she now found herself contradicting that request. Ever since Bumi had been born she found herself uncomfortable with leaving him out of her sight for even the smallest amount of time. The unease usually resulted in Bumi's crib being moved to their bedroom as she and Aang slept, only for the Avatar to move it back the next morning and with promises that she would let Bumi sleep in his own room the next night. The cycle was never-ending, and Aang had decided that now would be the perfect chance for him to keep her distracted long enough to realize she didn't need to keep a constant eye on their child every hour of the day. If Sokka thought she had been motherly before, he now had a whole arsenal of ways to tease her now. His own father barely ever had the chance to spend time alone with his own son, always finding Katara to be lurking behind a corner somewhere. The only time she allowed for Bumi not to be under her watchful eye was when she went to bathe, and even then she argued that Bumi needed a cleansing as well. Aang had quickly found a way around this, instead bathing Bumi himself every afternoon before she had a chance to protest.

It had been just over a year since Aang and the rest of the world's leaders had met. Despite the White Lotus' wishes to keep the existence of the Manarki a secret, over half the world's leaders were already aware of their existence, and had even taken a part in defeating the majority of their numbers, and so Iroh, Zuko, and Hakoda found it suitable that in order to keep the other leaders in their trust and protection, they had to be aware of the threat just as much as they had. The revelation was not taken entirely well, and caused much discomfort in Kuei, the members of Yu Dao's council, and of course, the new king of Omashu. Since then, tensions had been high between the nations and their trust in the Order of the White Lotus was dwindling. The Order hoped that this upcoming meeting would help to ease those tensions.

The meeting was to take place in a matter of hours in the Council of Elders' assembly room, and for the last few hours Aang had been trying to convince Katara to go through with her plan to attend the event with her husband, realizing that doing so meant that someone would have to take care of Bumi during that time. Even though Ekna had quickly volunteered, the mother was still unsure that her son would be okay without his mother just a cry away. Luckily though, Aang had been successful in getting the both of them ready and dressed. Aang was wearing his traditional Air Nomad robes and his airbending necklace, while Katara had put on a navy blue dress that extended from her shoulders down to her wrists and to her feet, with a lighter-blue over piece that added an additional layer to her shoulders and upper chest and adorned a fur collar. Around her waist was a powder blue pattern outlined by white lines that wrapped around her, giving the impression of a belt just above her thighs.

Katara sighed softly in defeat, "I know… I've just never left him alone before."

"He won't be alone," the father reminded his wife, "Ekna will take good care of him while we attend possibly the most boring conference in the world."

The waterbender sent a scold at her husband, "It's not _all_ that boring," she stated before swinging around to dart a finger against the younger man's chest, "You're the Avatar, Aang. You should be the most invested person at these conferences. Just because you're a dad now doesn't mean you can ignore your worldly responsibilities."

The airbender raised his hands in defense, "Hey, you're the one who's trying not to go; not me. I'm totally invested this time, one-hundred percent responsible."

"Mmm-hm…" the woman hummed with a smirk. "Fine, I'll go…if only to make sure you keep your attention _and_ your eyes on the meeting, and not on me. Don't make me remind you what happened at the last one I went to."

"It was a difficult time for me, Katara. I'm a growing man," he explained with an innocent whimper, "I have needs too, y'know."

Katara tried to hold back a giggle as she forcefully rolled her eyes. "As have I, but unlike you I wasn't the one playing footsie and running my foot up your leg under the table the whole time."

"Footsie is a two-player game, sweetie."

Ekna forced a soft and distracting cough to bring the couple out of their playful bickering. "Anyways, Katara… You don't have to worry about a thing. Bumi and I will have lots of fun until you get back, but if it makes you feel any better, I can bring him to the banquet hall once you are all done in the assembly room," the woman offered in hopes of easing the mother's worries.

Katara smiled and nodded, "That would be wonderful, Ekna. Thank you."

"Always happy to help. Now, you two get going. I can handle it from here."

Aang nodded and took his wife's hand and began to lead them out of the room; however Katara was insistent on calling back to the woman. "He should have plenty of pureed peaches if he gets hungry!" she began as her husband tried to lead her forward towards their destination. She pulled away from his lead and ducked her head into the room, "And be sure to sing him Four Seasons if he gets cranky. He loves that one. Oh! Also don't forget to give him his plush Appa if you lay him down for a nap," she quickly listed, feeling Aang's tugging becoming more insistent as she went on. "Make sure Momo doesn't get in his face—" her head disappeared from the corner as her husband finally pried her away from the doorway, eliciting a joyful giggling from her baby as she called out, "Mommy and Daddy love you, sweetie!"

* * *

Nianzu was adorned in his regular outfit. The torso was an orange-collared and buttoned-down light yellow vest with navy sleeves that extended to just above his elbows. An orange sleeveless tunic wrapped around the torso, leaving the majority of his vest viewable. It was tied around his waist by a navy blue sash. Covering his legs were a pair of thick blue and white Water Tribe slacks. The slacks also extended to a thinner layer that reached down to his ankle, which was covered by a pair of yellow boots tied around his lower leg by three sets of red laces. Strips of cloth similar in color to his sash wrapped around his wrists, keeping the veins covered in case of attack. It wasn't exactly the most formal attire available to him, but it was only thing he ever felt comfortable wearing, no matter the occasion. He'd worn something similar even on the day of Aang and Katara's wedding, which resulted with him receiving a considerable amount of chastising from his Uncle, who stressed the fact that it wasn't keeping in tradition with Air Nomad culture. Nianzu always ignored his statements though. He honestly didn't care. If Air Nomads were meant to be as free-spirited as they claimed, surely attire wasn't as big an issue as the Avatar was making it out to be.

He still didn't understand why that out of all the meetings he'd been asked to be absent from, this was the one that demanded his presence to the fullest. Either way, he had no excuses anyways. It's not like he could simply not be there. He lived in the palace in which the meeting would take place. One conference couldn't possibly kill him. He'd faced worse things than a bunch of leaders babbling on and on about politics. He accepted this fact and had spent the last fifteen or so minutes getting ready in his room. The room was mostly average compared to the rest of the rooms in the stronghold. The room was wide and spacious enough for at least two people's personal belongings. The bed was queen sized with silk sheets and pillow cases, all of which were decorated in various shades of blue. Beside either side of the bed was a nightstand with an oil lamp in the center. The middle of the room was adorned with a rug made out of the pelt of a bear. He had just finished tying the laces of his boots when a knock came to his door.

"Pupil Nianzu, you'd best be decent and ready in there. I didn't come all this way to find out you _still_ aren't ready," Aang called out from the other side of door.

The airbender rolled his eyes. Ever since Nianzu had agreed to let Aang teach him more about airbending, and about the Air Nomads in general, he'd begun taking his role as a teacher much more seriously than Nianzu ever thought possible from the younger man. "Yes, _Sifu_ Aang…" he said in an annoyed tone.

The door opened and Aang stood with a hand on his hip, already dressed in his robes. "Good. Now let's get going. Last thing I want to be is late, or Katara will never let me hear the end of it…" he explained dimly as he rolled his eyes, "When we're already running late thanks to _someone_ not being able to take her eyes off Bumi."

"Oh shush, Aang; I just wanted to be sure Ekna had everything she needed for Bumi before we left," the waterbender chimed in defense.

"Right… when she already said—how many times; 4 was it?—that they would be fine."

"Wow…not even married two years and you already bicker like an old married couple," said Nianzu in an effort end their petty quarrel. He finished tugging his clothes into place and headed towards the door, brushing pass them. "C'mon, we have a meeting to get to."

"We don't bicker!" Katara stated defensively with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. Her expression was broken when Aang looped around her and placed a soft but loving kiss on her lips.

"Sorry, Sweetie, but sometimes we do; but it doesn't mean I love you any less," he assured her with a smile. He extended his hand out to hers with a warming smile, "Might I have the pleasure of escorting the lovely lady to the assembly?" he offered while taking a short respectful bow.

Katara giggled softly, placing her hand delicately in his as she raised a hand to her mouth. "Oh Avatar Aang, I would be delighted."

As quickly as their squabbling had started, it had ceased. Nianzu chuckled softly at them, shaking his head. "You two really have issues, you know that?"

"We know," they answered in unison as they caught up to the airbender, heading directly for the assembly room a few floors down.

* * *

By the time the three had arrived at the Council of Elders' Assembly room, the rest of the attendees were already seated and situated, each with a cup of hot ginseng tea placed in front of them. The table was in the shape of a horseshoe, with plenty of room for everyone, as well as a large platform facing the large round table with a detailed and labeled three-dimensional map of the world. In front of the cups of tea were plaques that assigned each attendant's seat. Aang and Katara sat at the center, with Sokka beside Katara. Sokka was dressed in a garb similar to his fathers, with a blue collared top with a white fur tail near the collar that began a white line that extended down the middle. Just before the navy sleeves began, a fluff of white fur wrapped around his underarms. His slacks were also a dark blue and his shoes a brown leather. Zuko sat beside the warrior in his Fire Lord robes. Beside him was his uncle Iroh at the end of the left side of the table. Starting from Nianzu sat the rest of the World's leaders, with Hakoda between the airbender and Earth King Kuei, followed by the recently appointed new King of Omashu, an older man with graying hair named Malik, who was an ambassador for King Bumi during his reign. Beside the lesser King was Chief Arnook of the Northern Tribe, followed by the four councilmembers of Yu Dao's government. Each member of the conference had two bodyguards assigned to them. Guarding the Avatar and his family were a series of higher-ranked White Lotus sentries, while Earth Kingdom soldiers protected the two Kings, and Zuko had two of his most trusted delegates by his side.

Once Katara, Aang and Nianzu had taken their seats, Iroh, dressed in his Grand Lotus robes, stood and wrapped around the table and approached the elevated map, facing the assembly as he began the meeting. "Before we begin, I would just like to thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend the Second United Nations Conference. It is such an accomplishment that after so many years of War and tragedy, all of us can sit at the same table and discuss issues in the world in a calm and peaceful environment. For our first matter of business, the members of the Yu Dao Council will now take the floor to discuss the current status of the city since the establishment of a Coalition government."

The meeting went on for four hours, lasting into the night as each of the nations' leaders discussed their plans for their respective territories, with a list of reforms or establishments to help clear it's path into the new world following the end of the War and the termination of the Harmony Restoration Movement. Eventually, it came time to Aang and Zuko's time to discuss an idea they had been arranging together confidentially in the last few months. The idea was to take Yu Dao's new coalition government, if successful, as was evidently so since the city's council had discussed it's accomplishment in great depth when they had the floor, and establish it within the rest of the Fire Nation's Earth Kingdom colonies, and establish a new, fifth Nation, where benders and nonbenders from each nation could come to live together peacefully. Their speech was brought to a halt, however, when King Malik spoke out of turn and interrupted the two prominent figures.

Zuko spoke with a confident voice as he turned his gaze to the Earth King, "We would like to begin discussing the terms of acquiring land from your kingdom to construct this new nation whenever you have the time, King Kuei. Aang and I strongly believe that if Yu Dao can achieve such a peaceful cooperation from two previously conflicting nationalities, people of every nation can certainly—"

"I don't mean to interrupt, Fire Lord Zuko…" Malik began with his eyes closed and head tilted forward slightly as she shook his head and held his hand halfway in the air, "But throughout this entire meeting, I find it becoming strangely odd that no one, not even the esteemed 'Grand Lotus', has bothered to mention the unresolved threat of the Manarki."

The entire assembly began to murmur to another upon the utter of that dreaded name. Malik sat back in his chair, waiting for an answer to his question as he intertwined his fingers. Aang narrowed his eyes at the newly appointed King. There was something not right about him. He was always there to call people into question, and since his coronation he'd grown increasingly bold. It was not a comforting feeling. Malik was unlike his predecessor in so many ways, but the aura he gave off made Aang suspicious of him since day one of meeting him. Following Bumi's passing, Malik had been named successor by the King's request, which the Avatar found odd. Bumi was might have been crazy at times, but he wasn't a fool.

As the quiet talks continued and began to increase slightly in volume, Aang took a step forward and gestured his hands in a calming manner. "Everyone, please settle down." The Avatar waited for the council to do as he instructed, and soon everyone had focused their attention on the young Avatar once again. He took a short breath before speaking again. "King Malik, I understand why you feel the status of the spirits should be brought to attention during this conference—and it shall, I assure you—I would also hope that as a leader you would know best not to disrespect a speaker during these types of meetings."

"Of course, Avatar Aang…" Malik began, leaning forward and resting his elbows against the wooden table as his fingers gestured the young man, "…but if you ask me, these 'spirits' are not a simple matter. I find it incredibly disturbing that no one seems to feel it necessary to even mention their name. Need I remind this council the effects these dark spirits had on our nations in just a short amount of time? Within just a few months, they aided in the near death of Chief Hakoda, the raid on the Fire Nation Capital, and even nearly killed _you_ , Avatar. Not to mention, they caused the complete annihilation of all the inhabitants of both the Village of Kisha _and_ the City of Wishato!" the king stated with a raising voice. "Need I also remind the council that _this_ man," an accusing finger was found pointing at Nianzu, "aided those spirits in such endeavors?"

"King Malik," this time it was King Kuei who raised his voice at another councilmember, "might I remind _you_ that as ruler of the Earth Kingdom, I conducted a full and very thorough investigation into Nianzu's involvement with these dark spirits. He has been nothing but truthful according to my truth-seers, and not to mention his involvement in Avatar Aang's injuries was pardoned by the victim himself. I see no reason why this man should continue to be accused of such actions."

Nianzu sat silent at his seat, listening to the two kings' statements. He had been tempted to stand and defend the others and himself countlessly, but was only kept from doing so by Katara and Sokka, who explained to him that it wasn't worth the breath, and that Aang and Zuko could defend themselves. It only made him question further why Iroh had requested he even attend this meeting. He had nothing to add, and even when he did he was being refrained from doing so.

"And of course, I mean no disrespect to the great King of our nation… I simply would like to know why instead of taking action against these creatures, we are sitting here talking as though the world is at peace! As long as the Manarki remain free to roam our world, we are _not_ at peace. In fact, if you ask me… a better statement would be that we are at _war_. And please, Grand Lotus Iroh, please remind me of the status of the prisoner Yuan's location since his escape from _your_ facilities, without so much as a single clue to even point us in his direction."

The name _Yuan_ struck Katara's heart with an ache. She could never forget him, or what he did. She began to shake in her skin as she thought back on her final battle with him just before his incarceration. He had used her in ways no one else had, taking advantage of her depression after Aang was presumed dead, and taking advantage of her body. He had tried on more than one occasion to force his will upon hers. It was one of the reasons why as soon as Aang was healthy once more, she craved to have her first sexual experience with her lover as soon as possible. When Yuan had been corrupted to become part Manarki, after being thought dead, it was Aang who came to save her when Yuan sought to destroy her and her family for good. Thanks to Aang, Yuan failed miserably, but survived the encounter. It was at the final battle of Wishato that the couple sought to bring him to justice. The two powerful benders believed defeating him would be simple, but with the power of the Winter Solstice at his aid, he was a far more formidable opponent. He nearly destroyed them both. With no way to physically match Yuan's abilities, Aang found himself off his feet on more than one occasion, during which Yuan had also managed to subdue Katara and enforce himself upon her. He nearly succeeded, and would have further if Aang hadn't found the strength to stand again and fight. It hadn't lasted long. With the Avatar still weak and trying to keep balance, the firebender-turned-Manarki focused his attacks on the young airbender. On the verge of snapping Aang's neck, Katara found herself discovering an ability she never thought possible… the ability to bloodbend with her mind.

All her bent up rage and anger had culminated into one fierce determination: to finish Yuan once and for all. Despite having complete control over the human-half of Yuan's body, Katara couldn't keep her power under control, even unwillingly enforcing her grip upon Aang. She had nearly killed them both if Yuan hadn't warned her of the fact she was killing Aang as well. Ultimately, it was Yuan's own foolishness and ego that left him defeated and at the mercy of the White Lotus. The event nearly destroyed Katara, and she began to doubt her waterbending gift. It took Aang months to help her regain her confidence. In due time, it was her growing pregnancy with Bumi that brought her back to normal.

Iroh remained calm and collected as he took in the interrogative words of Malik, staring straight into the lesser king's eyes as he began to speak. "The Order of the White Lotus revealed their existence in society _because_ of the existence of the Manarki. We did not make this decision lightly, so do take into consideration that we are doing everything we possibly can to locate both the remaining dark spirits and Yuan," the old general explained plainly. "We have airships constantly surveying the skies, and ground forces searching every remote location of each of the nations."

"But is it enough?" Malik questioned with the raise of a brow. "You just proved my point, _general_. You may have search parties, but they are failing every day that these creatures still exist."

"What would you suggest then, King Malik?" questioned Hakoda, if for no other reason than to hear if the monarch had a legitimate point, and if he was doing anything more than criticizing others.

The new king ran a smile across his face as he stood from his seat, walking around the table to where Zuko and Aang were still standing, his hands behind his back and hidden in the sleeves of his robe. "It's quite simple… If we, as humans, cannot find these spirits and terminate them, then the _Avatar_ , being the 'great bridge' between our worlds as he is, should task the other spirits still roaming our world peacefully to seek out the Manarki and the escaped convict."

"It's not that easy, King Malik," Aang began, approaching the older man with a concerned look. "Spirits are not violent in nature. It seems that Manarki are simply a very unbalanced race of spirits, but they are spirits nonetheless. I have no authority to demand anything of the Spirits, much less to ask them to harm other spirits."

"Spirits are spirits…there is nothing else to them," the man brushed the argument aside. "We did not create the Manarki. They did. They should clean up their own mess. Not force us to fight their battles for them, Avatar or not."

"I will not demand the Spirits of the Physical world to fight for us. The Manarki threaten us, not them. If anything, we should be more inclined to fighting our own battles than hiding our tails between our legs and asking someone else to do it for us!"

"So, the Avatar is refusing to protect his fellow humans?"

Aang was taken aback by this statement, initiating a state of unrest between everyone in the room. "That's… No, that's not what I'm saying at all!" the young man declared. "All I am saying is that the Spirits do not take kindly to demands from humans. If Light Spirits believed that it was their right to deal with the Manarki, they would have done so by now, so it stands to reason that, inevitably, the Manarki is _my_ problem to resolve," Aang explained. He glanced towards the rest of the council, who all expected more of a solution to come out of the Avatar's reasoning than a drawn out argument. "As the Avatar, maybe I can hone in on the Manarki's energies. That should help me find out where they are, and when we have their location, we'll do what we must to ensure they are expelled from the Physical World."

Malik huffed softly but nonetheless formed a smile at the young Avatar. "Very well, Avatar Aang. I do hope that you bring an end to these Spirits. Until that time comes…" Malik turned back to the council, looking at each of them as he finished his statement, "…I believe we no longer have anything to discuss. However, that is merely my own opinion." The monarch took back his seat at the table, satisfied with the outcome of his arguments. He intertwined her fingers a final time as he waited for the conference to come to an end.

With a little time, the conference was able to come underway again, but did not last much longer. After another hour of discussions, Iroh declared the conference over and Hakoda invited the council to attend the banquet that had been prepared in honor of their assembly. Nianzu stayed behind, remaining in his seat as he thought over the last few hours. He had to admit… as blunt as the new king of Omashu had been, he had a point. Even with the loss of Tomark, the Manarki and Yuan were still a threat to the world. He'd considered several times that perhaps their continued existence in the Physical World was the cause of his never-ending nightmares. Still, he agreed with Aang as well. As the Avatar, it was Aang's job to keep the balance between the humans and Spirits, and that meant dealing with such matters himself and not employing an army to do it for him. He slowly began to stand when he found Aang still seated at the table. He could have sworn he watched him leave, but maybe he was mistaken. Much to his surprise, Katara was not still by his side. Nianzu guessed that he must have lost himself in thought and in that time, Aang had returned from the banquet to think, and found his nephew doing the same.

"You okay, Aang?"

"My head hurts. Does that count?" the younger man replied, looking up at Nianzu with a forced half-smile.

"Not really." Nianzu shrugged, looking away for a moment but eventually turning his gaze back to Aang. "So…do you think you can actually find them just by meditating?"

Aang left out a soft sigh. "That's what I've been thinking about for a while now," he admitted. "I mean, I guess it is possible. It's definitely worth a try. I'm thinking about taking a trip to the Southern Air Temple. Deep in the mountains is an ancient airbender meditation circle. Maybe if I go there and meditate for a few days, I can get a stronger read on the Manarki's dark energy."

Nianzu nodded, "Mind if I tag along?"

Aang was quite surprised to hear him volunteer to join him. Aang naturally smiled at his older student's offer. "Not at all. I think it would be a good experience for you to try meditation."

"Don't think I'm not going with you," a second voice chimed in. The two men looked up to find Katara in the doorway, carrying Bumi in a blue sash that wrapped around her back, over her shoulder and down around her waist, securing the baby against her chest as she had joined in on the festivities of the banquet on the first floor. "You weren't just going to leave me home with the baby, were you, Aang?"

Aang's smile widened and he stood and approached her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a kiss. "I would never think of leaving you behind. I'd love for you to come with me. You could meditate with us," Aang expressed joyfully as he stood beside his wife, wrapping his arm around her back and resting it on her shoulder as he began to stroke his child's cheek. "Bumi should come with us, too. He can get a head start learning about his father's heritage."

"He's barely a year old yet, Aang," Katara reminded him. "I don't think he'll understand much."

"Better to start earlier than later," Nianzu added with a shrug as he approached the two. "Look at me; I'm nearly thirty years late."

"See, he gets it, Katara. He's already starting to think just like me."

Katara raised a deadpanned brow to the older airbender, "Don't you start being like him. Last thing I need are two of him."

"Oh Sweetie, admit it, you'd love to have your own army of Mini-Aangs at your service," he wiggled his brows to her, drawing out another giggle from his wife.

"One of you is plenty to satisfy me, Sweetie," she titled her head back to connect her lips to his, which he eagerly accepted and deepened the kiss.

Nianzu groaned and shook his head, leaving the assembly room and passing by the couple as he headed out. "When you two get done sucking faces, I'll be at the banquet." The older man left the two to be alone, deciding instead to join Sokka on the ground floor where the rest of the palace was meeting to join in the festivities. The room was furnished with dozens of dining tables and tapestries representing each of the four nations hanging from the walls, including Yu Dao. Along the walls were a series of long buffet stands that contained food from every culture, prepared by some of the finest chefs in all the world. Strings of lamps were hung from the ceiling to make the area illuminate brightly. Despite the main event only commemorating the union of the world's leaders at a peaceful conference, each of them had brought with them their closest advisors and friends, along with the majority of the city being invited to celebrate another successful year of peace since the Hundred Year War. The Southern Tribe itself was a testament to how the world was healing and rebuilding.

"Hey, Nianzu ! Over here!" a voice called out to the airbender. He scanned the room several times, trying to find the source of the voice. The room had dozens of people all talking at once, making it increasingly difficult every second to find a single voice. Eventually he found a hand waving in the air trying to catch his attention. Nianzu smiled and found that the arm belonged to Sokka.

"Glad to see you finally made it down, buddy," Sokka greeted the man as he approached the table the warrior and chief were seated at. "Where's Aang? Is he gonna come and join? He loves parties. Katara just left to go find him."

Nianzu took a seat beside the younger man. "They're both in the assembly room still. Aang and I were talking about what was all discussed at the meeting. That's all. Though now he and Katara are trying to eat each other's faces off."

Sokka shivered, "Please, I don't need the specifics. I've already had to deal enough with their oogies the past few years. You do _not_ even know the half of it."

The airbender chuckled as he raised a glass of water to his mouth, but smirked and glanced at his friend, "Just hope they don't decide to make another kid anytime soon."

"Gah!" Sokka exclaimed in disgust. "You're just evil, y'know that? That's even worse than hearing about them kissing. I don't want to—just no, Nianzu. Just…no."

"You make it too easy, buddy."

"Just eat your seaweed noodles." Sokka slid a bowl of fresh hot vegan pasta towards the older man, which Nianzu delighted. It was now his favorite meal since moving to the South Pole with Aang and the others. It was surprising just how much closer all of them had become in just a little over a year. Nianzu suspected it would be years before they truly trusted him, let alone became friends with him. Perhaps Zuko was right when he said that in time, they would all come to trust him so long as he trusted them. In that time, Sokka and Aang were the two he was closest to, but Katara was slowly becoming the third. Sokka and Nianzu often sparred and tested one another's swordsman skills, with many of their duels ending in a draw. Nianzu often made time to train with Aang in the earlier mornings, and spar with Sokka in the afternoons. However, due to this night's conference, much of the day had been spent finalizing the remaining preparations for the meeting and the following banquet. It may have been nighttime now, but that was no reason why the two could not still squeeze in a quick sparring session. That is, if Sokka was up to it.

"Go get your sword, and I'll meet you at the training grounds in twenty minutes," said Sokka enthusiastically as he stood from his seat and headed towards the exit. Nianzu simply nodded and followed the warrior.

"If I don't beat you there first," he called after his opponent.

"We'll see about that, airhole."

Hakoda chuckled as the two raced off to duel. He was glad to see that Sokka had a close friend to keep him busy and entertained while Suki was off in the Fire Nation helping to guard the palace, and Toph focusing on her Metalbending Academy. The two were almost like brothers, despite their near ten-year age difference. Nianzu was always a quieter person, keeping him and his thoughts to himself, but in the last two years he'd really loosened up and begun to shake off much of his angst. This was especially true when he and Sokka hung out together. Hakoda could only imagine how long their sparring would go on this time before they declared yet another draw. The chief was brought out of his thoughts when Ekna rejoined him at the table with some food.

"I got some of those stewed sea-prunes you enjoy, Chief Hakoda."

"Ekna," the chief began with slight annoyance as he shook his head, "how many times do I have to remind you, hon, you can just call me Hakoda. Enough with the formalities. You've been like family to us all. The least you can do is treat us the same way."

"I do, Hakoda," the physician assured him. "But you are the chief, and this is a formal occasion. The least I can do is treat you with the same respect everyone else here deserves."

"Fair enough," he shrugged. "How was Bumi? I take it Katara was glad to see he didn't explode the moment she took her eyes off him." Hakoda chuckled.

"He was an angel. He became tired after they left so I laid him down for a nap. You know, for a first-time mom, Katara's rather good at it. Sure, she could stand to loosen up a bit, but it's probably just the tensions of being a mother at such a young age, and especially considering her life. She just wants to keep him safe, and I couldn't blame her. You shouldn't either."

"Hey, I'm not judging. I completely understand. You think I wanted to be a grandfather at _this_ age? I figured I'd have at least another few years of youth before I became a gramps. Now look at me; I'm already turning gray," the man hysterically joked.

"And yet you still have the health and physique of a man in his prime, not to mention the gray strands don't exactly take anything away your handsomeness," she noted before her cheeks blushed a soft crimson found herself pulling back a bit. "Sorry, I didn't mean to—I just meant, you're…good for your age," she explained sheepishly.

Hakoda was a bit surprised by her comments, but nonetheless understood her intentions. Ekna had sort of become a surrogate mother to Katara since her pregnancy was announced, so much so that Ekna was the only person Katara entrusted the health and supervision of her unborn child to, despite the numerous proficient healers that were at her disposal. Katara found herself seeking the physician when she had any questions about Bumi's needs or nutrition. The older woman was the one who had instructed the new mother on how to breast-feed Bumi in his opening months. His daughter's intent on usually only seeking Ekna's advisement struck him hard at first, feeling a bit left out, but understood that in the end he did not have all the knowledge Katara required. Instead Hakoda became Aang's advisor in being a father. Being raised mostly by Gyatso was not nearly enough for the young Avatar to be a successful father, and so he sought the tutelage of his father-in-law in such endeavors. Acting as the couple's advisors in raising their family, the chief and physician had become closer as friends, though Hakoda wasn't sure how close they were becoming until Ekna made a comment on his attractiveness.

"Well, I…um," he coughed softly, "I appreciate those kind words, Ekna. They make me feel rather young now, actually, and might I say you're quite easy on the eyes yourself. I'm surprised you never found a husband during all those years you served the Beifong family." He quickly tried to change the subject and move the conversation forward.

Ekna was able to lighten her cheeks enough to respond. "Well, working for one of the richest families in the world isn't all it's cracked up to be. The money's wonderful, of course, but you can never stray too far. You don't get much social time. I'm just honored that your daughter invited me to come stay with you all here, and that you permitted it, of course."

"You're family to us, dear. You have a home here, now and always. Remember that," he guaranteed her with a confident voice.

Their conversation was broken up when Hakoda noticed the King of Omashu stand from his designated table, along with all the people he had invited to attend the ceremony with him. Normally it would go unnoticed, but instead of working through the crowds like everyone else, the monarch had instructed his guards to clear a path for him, which he followed with a privileged head held high and his hands behind his back, hidden in the sleeves of his robes. Hakoda narrowed his eyes as he watched the lesser king enforce his will through the crowds. Though, instead of heading for the room he'd been offered in the palace, he was heading for the exit. The chief of the Southern Tribe stood from his table and decided to catch up with the older man. It took a bit of time to pass through the crowds peacefully, but once he had caught up with Malik, he called out to him.

"King Malik," the chief began as he finally was within speaking distance of the man, "I would just like to express my gratitude for you coming to attend the conference tonight. I know you have been very busy since your coronation in Omashu, and I am sure that after such a lengthy assembly you are indeed exhausted. I made sure to have one of our finest rooms prepared for you, so I do hope you find it comfortable during your stay in the palace tonight."

The king chuckled softly and shook his head, "No need, Chief Hakoda. I won't be staying. I have to return to Omashu as soon as possible. My ship is already fit for departure, and is awaiting my arrival at the docks. I find my quarters on the vessel will much better suit my comfort than your…icy fortress. No offense, of course."

Hakoda resisted the urge to comment. "Of course, King Malik. I do hope you enjoyed your stay and the banquet. Do have a safe trip home, and I hope we get to see another again soon." The chief respectfully took a bow, expecting the man to do the same.

"We shall see. Thank you again, Hakoda. Enjoy the rest of your night," the king said with a simple nod of the head before continuing with his ensemble towards the palace's exit.

The chief watched as the monarch left the room, his contracted eyes watching him every step of the way until he was out of view. He agreed with Aang. There was something not right about Malik. He seemed to believe he had a higher authority than the rest of them, despite the fact he was actually one of the lesser members of the whole council, at least in considering the extent of their rule, as Katara, Nianzu and Sokka only attended due to their roles in both ending the war and helping to reconstruct the government of Yu Dao, and aiding the Avatar in his quest to keep the world in balance. Still, they had more respect for the other councilmembers than King Malik seemed to really have for any member of the council.

"Something's off about that guy…"

"You're not the only one who thinks that," stated Ekna, appearing behind Hakoda as he watched the king leave. "But King Bumi seemed to trust him enough to name him his successor. Maybe he just needs more time to become comfortable with the struggles of the throne?"

"Nah," the man dismissed the idea, "he knows who he is. He's not like this because of stress…he is like this because he loves having control over the throne."

"Well then, if he isn't fit to rule Omashu, I'm sure King Kuei will make it a priority to correct it."

Hakoda huffed as he crossed his arms. "We'll see. You should have heard him during the meeting. He wanted Aang to demand spirits to help us hunt down the Manarki. Can you believe that?"

Ekna gasped softly, "Are you serious? From what I've heard from Aang, the spirits hardly enjoy taking requests from humans, let alone demands."

"Exactly," he turned to her. "He thinks he can enforce his will on anyone, but don't worry. Aang found a way to satisfy him. Soon, Aang is going to begin searching for the Manarki personally. If anyone can find them, it will be him," the chief assured her with a smile. "Hopefully then, we can put behind everything that happened, once and for all."

"I sure hope so. It's about time the world enjoys the true pleasures of peace," she agreed before throwing out her hand to grab the chief's wrist. "Now come on, let's get back to the party. I think Iroh's band is about to play another song, and I _don't_ want to miss it." Ekna began to lead him towards the stage at the end of the room, where a bundle of instruments were already laid out and ready for use. Hakoda chuckled at her enthusiasm. He felt a growing tug at his insides as he was similarly pulled to her lead by her insistence.

* * *

Deep on the outskirts of the Spirit World, there lay an extravagant ocean that was rumored to be expanding into near nonexistence. The ocean glowed a bright and violet hue, but the liquid itself was blue. The sea was still, dormant and without a single ripple. It was almost like ice, were it not for how what little light existed shined their reflections. Rising from the water every second were hundreds of little yellow orbs of light, so small and fragile, yet not bright enough to overcome the darkness that shadowed the entire plane. Sprouting were the water were plants resembling trees, however they were black, as if scarred by fire, and twisted and shriveled as though dead. The trees extended far out into sea, but ended just as the sands of the island of which the sea began. The sand resembled that of the volcanic-ashy beaches of Ember Island, a landmass in the Physical world. The island had little to know vegetation, aside from another set of trees, different from the ones in the water but similar all at once. Each of them were ripped open, revealing them to be nothing but hallowed trunks, among an assortment of dark rocks. The island expanded what the humans would call "miles", but distance in the Spirit world was nothing more than a thought away. As far away from the rest of the Spirit World that this island was, it was just as close to any other realm in the mythological world. Despite this, however, it's existence was known by only a few spirits, and was presumed uninhabited. That was not in fact the case.

This island had once been flourished with great spiritual energy, capable of allowing Spirits to simply walk into the sea and instantly cross over into the Physical World, but in the last few thousand years, the area had become corrupted and tainted with dark energy. Any spirit who came near it was instantly reformed by the darkness, bent to its unbound will. Only few spirits managed to escape the great cataclysm that had transformed this once peaceful island, and those that did ensured that no other of their kind would be drawn to it. That is, until two spirits had been brought to the island by force.

On the edge of the northern-most beach stood a cloaked figure. The robes which concealed the figure seemed to be made of pure darkness as smoke was smoldering from every edge. The rest of its details could not be made out. The spirit simply stood at the edge of the ocean and watched the yellow orbs of light as they rose from the dark sea. Every now and then, one of these lights would drift toward the spirit. It would reach its arm out, revealing a violet-skinned and black-clawed hand, and catch one of these lights in their palm. By the time the hand opened, the light had always been corrupted, instead glowing a bright purple hue. The creature would clench its fist.

"Their souls will never be strong enough, no matter how enlightened a spirit they held…" the spirit spoke, revealing to have a prominently male tone of voice, it's voice low and husky, almost strained by what would normally be considered old age. "It is as I feared…" it continued, his hooded head raising only slightly enough to look out towards the dormant sea, "I will need the child of the Avatar. I need his soul."

The dark spirit turned from the still waters, calmly strolling across the ashy sands towards the dead forest. The smoke emitting from his cloak would break apart and be replaced by a new layer of black fumes. The spirit made his way to the center of the forest where there stood another assortment of hollowed-out trees. However, unlike the others, there were two with spiritual barriers emitting from the edges of the openings of these trees. They kept imprisoned in each of them a captive that the dark spirit had procured in the last two years. The walls of energy made it impossible for them to escape, and seemingly equally impossible for any spirit to enter them. The cloaked spirit seemed to be an exception. Once walking up one of the trees trunks and becoming just a footstep away from touching the barrier, the energy would split and expand to fit the dark spirit's figure until he was completely inside the tree's emptiness. At the end of the prison there lay a white-skinned figure, hissing at the glow of energy emitted from the cloaked spirit's entry.

"What do you want from me? Please, I beg of you…leave me alone. I'll do anything…" the prisoner begged, shielding his face with its thin arms as the dominant spirit approached him. The imprisoned spirit seemed to be somehow clothed, taking on what appeared to be a shredded robe covering his extremities and torso. Its eyes seemed somewhat human, with pupils that would normally glow, but instead remained dark and nearly lifeless. Its body shook with fear as his captor entered his lowly prison cell, the dark energy within him growing stronger the closer the imprisoner came to him. In the past, the prisoner had fed off this energy and attempted to escape. Unlike the cloaked figure, however, this spirit could barely come near the barrier without being shot full of shocking energy. If it had been dark energy, it would have made him stronger. Whatever energy the barrier was made of, it knew just the right amount of balance of energy needed to harm the prisoner…and both of his halves.

The cloaked spirit approached his captive, allowing his eyes to glow a violet hue to strike fear into the younger spirit. "You will have your freedom, should you succeed. I have a task for you…Yuan."


	3. The Journey

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.**

 **So upon deciding the way I want to do this story, there are a few things I would like the readers to know if you have read** _ **Avatar:**_ _ **The Dawning of Darkness**_ **. One thing is that there will be some changes made to the Manarki's history and how they came to exist. Also, the story will not follow Future Canon 100% to the note. I want the story to be able to take its own turns and risks, so some things may either contradict Avatar History, both past, future, and present, or follow it. It just depends on what I feel deserves a new iteration.**

 **Also, this story will contain a lemon so the story will now be rated M. It is my first attempt at anything involving sex in writing, so please bear with me. It will be obvious when the scene starts, so you can easily skip over it if you are not comfortable reading that kind of stuff. I hope you all enjoy the chapter nonetheless.**

 **So, without further ado, let's get on with the story.**

* * *

 _Last time on The Darkness Awakens…_

Katara begins to loosen up to the idea of leaving Bumi alone with babysitters.  
Aang, Katara, Sokka, Nianzu and the rest of the World's Leaders head up an important conference.  
King Malik of Omashu demands the destruction of what remains of the Manarki in the Physical World.  
Aang decides to head to the Southern Air Temple on a meditative journey to locate the Manarki.  
Hakoda and Ekna begin to bond and become closer.  
A Dark Spirit has trapped Yuan, and now wishes to send him on a mission.

* * *

 **Chapter 3:  
** **The Journey**

"You have to pull it tighter, Nianzu! If it's not tight enough you won't be able to guide Appa properly," Aang called out to the other airbender situated on top of the bison's head, pulling firmly on the reins strapped around the beast's horns. It was early afternoon and the sun was beginning to reach its peak in the sky, shining its glow into the opening of the stables where Appa slept and was held.

"He's _your_ bison, Aang," the older man retorted. "Why do I have to be the one getting him ready for takeoff?"

"It builds character," the Avatar explained with a soft shrug.

"Builds character, my ass. You just want me to do your busy work," Nianzu sneered at his uncle.

Aang picked up another duffle bag filled with clothes for the oncoming trip, tossing them in the air and sending a soft burst of wind below the sack to fling it into the bison's saddle. It had been three days since the United Nations Conference, and since then the words of King Malik had been repeating over and over again in the gang's heads. As blunt at the monarch was in his argument, in the end he had been right. For nearly the last two years the rest of them had dismissed the Manarki's threat. Though a considerable amount of them survived the battle in Wishato, they had no leader, no guidance. They were nothing but mindless creatures wandering the world with no destination. An attack by dangerous spirits was never reported in any of the Earth Kingdom's settlements, even the most remote, or even in the Fire Nation or Water Tribes. The Air Temples were no exception, as Aang had tasked his Air Acolytes to keep the temples safe during his time away. Though they were all primarily nonbenders, they knew the importance of Spirits, no matter what form, and would notify Aang if the Manarki appeared.

Along with the rest of the world's rebuilding, Zuko had offered some of the Fire Nation's finest architects to help in the cleanup and rebuilding of the Air Temples. Aang was at first against the idea of outsiders rebuilding the ancient temples, but finally came to accept the offer under the condition that each of the temples were rebuilt to their original designs, and that all signs of war were removed, with his dispersed Air Acolytes to lead the restoration efforts. Since then, Aang had been meaning to take time to go visit his restored home, but never had the chance until now.

"Not true," said the Avatar in defense. "I'm loading up the bags."

Nianzu frowned and narrowed a brow, "By bending them onto the saddle. That's not exactly the same as tying ropes around a ten-ton beast's horns, not to mention with a _very_ specific pattern that I have had to redo three times now because it wasn't 'tight enough' or 'not long enough'. Again, I say, why do I have to do this while you just toss bags into the air?"

"Well, if there were more bison around, this would teach you one of the many things you'd need to learn about caring for your sky bison, but since there aren't any, you just have to settle for Appa," Aang explained, gesturing his lifelong friend. "He _is_ an airbender, just like you. You could stand to learn from him from time to time, but he won't teach you anything if you don't handle him properly," the younger man finished saying with his eyes closed and a finger in the air in a matter-of-fact way.

The older airbender leaned down closer to Appa's ear, "You really believe half the stuff he's saying right now?" he asked in a hushed voice, covering his mouth with his palm to the edge of his lips. The bison let out a soft groan in reply, to which Nianzu simply responded, "Yeah, I figured as much…"

Aang chuckled and shook his head as he bent another duffle bag into the saddle. After all the bags had been loaded Aang pounced into the saddle and began tying the luggage down. Being at the back of the saddle, the luggage could be used as something to sit or sleep against. Aang finished strapping the luggage down and turned to Nianzu.

"See? I did my part, you did yours. Everyone pulls their own weight."

"Somehow mine seemed to involve more work…" Nianzu commented. "Where's Sokka and Katara? Aren't they supposed to be helping too?"

"Sokka's gathering food for the trip. It'll be a few days before we reach the Temple, and we'll have to land as soon as we cross the sea and find land. Trust me, we'll get there as soon as possible. Katara, Sokka and I took the exact same route when we left here five years ago to travel to the North Pole," the younger airbender explained as he thought back on the beginning of his journey all those years ago. "As for Katara, she's probably gathering the last of the things we need for the trip."

"I thought you said you were done packing?" questioned Nianzu.

"I am; I planned ahead and got all of Bumi's clothes packed along with some stuffed animals to keep him entertained. Katara's getting the tents, the sleeping bags, that sort of stuff. Probably grabbing some extra diapers for Bumi too."

"You don't think there's a chance I'll need to watch you two change a diaper on this trip…do you?"

Aang chuckled, "The chances of that are higher than the chance of seeing a mountain by the time we reach the temple."

"Great…" Nianzu deadpanned with a slouched head.

"Maybe Katara can teach you to do it, in case you ever need to babysit Bumi on your own," he chuckled as he nudged his elbow softly into the older man's arm.

"Let's not get crazy now. I'll let the professionals handle it."

Aang laughed again and brought a hand to the older man's shoulder, "You get used to it after a while. Trust me… I flung those things as far away from me as I could when I first started." Out of the corner of their eye they found Katara walking towards them, garbed in her traveling clothes and Bumi's sash wrapped around her torso, carrying another duffle bag in her right hand and tossing it to her husband once she got close enough, laughing softly.

"It's rather sad to find out the Almighty Avatar's one true weakness is a dirty diaper," she smirked.

Aang tossed the sack up onto the bison's back and shrugged to his wife. "Those things are stink bombs. Can you blame me?"

"No, not really," she quickly retorted, "considering I changed most of them. Sometimes you have to stop being such a baby if you're going to raise one."

"I am not a baby, Katara. I'm and shocked and appalled that you would consider me as such!" he gasped softly in a joking manner. "After all, I _am_ the Almighty Avatar."

His wife giggled and planted a kiss to her husband's lips, patting his cheek softly. "You'll always be _my_ Almighty Avatar, Sweetie." She winked to him with a seductive smile that elicited a groan from Nianzu.

"Can we please keep comments like that to ourselves? There are children in the room."

"I'm sorry, Aang. You're right; you aren't a baby," Katara reclaimed her statement. "Nianzu is though. You and Sokka have been spending _way_ too much time together."

"Or maybe he just finally realized the extent at which you two express your oogies in public," clarified Sokka as he approached the group with two sacks of food over each of his shoulders. He walked onto Appa's tail as it elevated to help his longtime friend reach his back easily as he lugged the two bags of food and set them down beside the stack of luggage. "Now, are you two going to keep giving each other bedroom eyes or are we going to get a move on?"

Aang smirked and shifted his gaze between his wife and brother-in-law, "Depends really. I'm up for either."

"You really can be lecherous at times, you know that?" Katara giggled as she shook her head.

"Guilty as charged."

"Hey!" Sokka barked, "I don't want to hear any more of that kind of talk, or so help me I'll jump straight off of this bison."

Nianzu chuckled and used airbending to levitate himself onto Appa's head, followed closely by Aang doing the same to himself and his wife and son, albeit onto the bison's saddle to join Sokka as he leaned against their luggage. "You sure you can fly Appa, Nianzu? Isn't this your first time?"

"He'll be fine, Sokka. Appa's experienced. He knows the way home. All Nianzu has to do is watch for clear skies. Long as he knows the difference between left and right and up and down, I'm sure we'll be fine," stated Aang confidently as his nephew took the reins of the bison firmly in his hands.

"Alright, Appa," Nianzu began, taking a deep breath as he situated himself atop the animal's large head. "Let's get going. We have a long trip ahead of us." Nianzu whipped the reins in the air, "Yip, yip."

Appa growled softly and smacked his tail against the ground, propelling his large ten-ton frame from the icy ground and into the chilling air, thrusting his body forward and flying high into the air with the aid of Nianzu's guidance. Everyone was dressed for the cold airstreams surrounding the skies of the South Pole, and Bumi was warmly wrapped in his mother's carrying sash. They knew that leaving so late in the day would mean an overnight flight, but Aang had already made sure Appa had enough rest the night before and had already volunteered himself to handle the night lead. Halfway into the trip Katara had handed her son over to his uncle and cousin so that she could join her husband atop Appa's head once Nianzu had guided Appa toward open waters. She would come to sit closely beside him, her legs curled to the side while she leaned her head against his shoulder while his arm draped around her waist to pull her closer. He had become considerably taller than her in the last few years, and it did not appear that the growing would stop anytime soon. Aang had even begun to propose the idea of growing a beard like Sokka had begun attempting, already having grown a decent patch of hair beneath his chin. Nianzu himself had grown a considerably bushy beard, though it never reached further than a quarter of an inch before he shaved it to a shorter length. Though unlike his uncle, the airbender still had a full head of hair and had yet to receive his airbending tattoos. It would be years before he had earned those, though he was in no rush.

The couple sat admiring the sky while the sun set to the west, casting a beautiful orange glow against the clouds. Katara found her eyes becoming heavier as the night came closer. Unlike their flying bison, she had not slept in the night before at all, an act she was now regretting. Still, she was content with laying against her lover's shoulder as he embraced her. It was nice to be with him like this again. It felt like a century since she had joined him on an extended trip with Appa, especially because of her pregnancy with Bumi just ten months prior, but even since then Aang still had not brought her along due to her having to care for Bumi during his first few months. The couple had planned to go on weekly trips around the outskirts of the city to give themselves some much needed relaxation; however the burdens of first-time parenthood and Katara's almost obsessive attachment to Bumi made those plans practically nonexistent. The mother found herself questioning if bringing Bumi on this trip, especially when the journey would be hundreds of feet in the air, would become hazardous to his health at such a high altitude. She brought these concerns to Ekna, who assured her that as long as Appa flew under the clouds and did not take any sharp turns or make any unnecessary movements, Bumi would be fine. Katara was glad to hear this, much to her husband's shock. He assumed her maternal nature would cause her to forbid the boy's participation, but instead she was more than gleeful to have him come with them. Now that they were finally on this trip, and Bumi was completely entertained by his uncle and cousin, she had no regret whatsoever. She hated to admit that she and Aang had become very distant since Bumi's birth. They barely had enough time to themselves, and even when they did, somehow or another they ended up discussing Bumi. All she wanted was one night alone with him. She hoped that this desire might come true during their journey, but before anyone else had even come close to reaching fatigue, she was on the verge of passing out.

Aang insisted she go lay down and get some rest, but she refused each time with a soft shake of her head and explaining in a half-asleep groan, "I'm fine right here with you." It brought a soft smile to the young man's face and he nodded and accepted her wishes. Once nighttime arrived, the others joined Katara in slumber, with Bumi laying against his godfather's chest, covered by a thick blanket while Nianzu rested his head against his right arm while his left draped around his infant cousin. The ten-month-old sucked on his thumb and rested peacefully with his much older great-cousin. The sight of this made Aang smile widely. It was a happy image, and he would not dare to disrupt them. He turned his gaze over to Sokka who was sprawled out and face buried against the assortment of sleeping bags and luggage. Finally, his eyes landed on his wife leaning against his shoulder still while she entered her fourth hour of sleep. He softly began to run his fingers through her hair as he took in her scent. Though she was asleep, he was happy to be spending this quiet ride alone with her. Aang rarely had time to actually sit down and reflect on everything they had gone through since they met, how far they had come since then. It still made him smile more than anything else when he thought about the day him and Katara began their relationship, especially when he considered how far they had come since. He remembered lying awake for hours every night wondering if his feelings for her were mutual; if she even had an ounce of the attraction to him as he had for her. Ever since then, she had made it her duty to remind him that she indeed loved him unconditionally. Bumi's existence had become a testament to their love for another; that through all the battles they had gone through, through all the villains they would face, through all the evil in the world, they loved another more than the risks of their relationship could ever damage. They knew that their lives were dangerous, but still desired to have a family together. Above all else, that was what kept Aang going, to keep himself trained and strong, so that he could protect them above all else. He had a duty to the world as the Avatar, but Aang could never doubt that when he was defending the world he was ultimately defending his family—and he always would.

* * *

Aang went through the entirety of the night and the majority of the next day guiding Appa and once they reached a clearing a few miles off the coast of the Southern Sea he brought the bison to a landing. Appa had flown for nearly twenty-five hours straight when he and his guide decided that now would be a good time to stop. The clearing they found was surrounded by trees with a creek nearby, but open enough for them to set up a decent sized camp. They immediately began to unpack all the items they needed for the campsite. The group had brought with them three separate tents. Two of which were simple triangular-shaped tents only large enough to provide shelter for one user and were given to Nianzu and Sokka, while a large, round, and much more spacious tent was to be set up for Aang, Katara and Bumi. Katara had Aang pack Bumi's bassinet for him to sleep in until they reached the temple. While Aang got the tents set up, Katara prepared dinner, Sokka collected the wood needed for the campfire and Nianzu had gone to fetch water from the nearby stream. In three hours the sun was just beginning to set and dinner was being served. The four formed a circle around the fire while Katara served everyone a bowl of the five-flavor soup she had prepared before settling down beside her son who was playing with one of the toys his parents had packed for him.

"Feels like old times, doesn't it?" Sokka yawned while he stretched his arms in the air following his finished meal.

"A bit, yeah," Katara agreed with a curving smile as she guided a spoonful of pureed pears to Bumi, which he eagerly accepted. "Minus caring for a baby the whole time."

"Well, there was that one night with Mai's little brother," Aang added with a watchful eye over his wife and son. "That was kind of like this."

"Minus the fact he wasn't basically kidnapped," interjected Katara's older brother with a raised finger.

Nianzu raised a surprised brow, "You guys kidnapped a kid once? And here I thought you were all innocent," he teased them as he sipped more soup from his wooden bowl.

Aang shot a half-serious glare at the older airbender, "We didn't actually 'kidnap' him per say. We were evacuating Omashu's citizens after the Fire Nation seized it, and I guess he somehow followed the crowds. Next thing we knew, Mai's father thought we kidnapped his son. It was a very confusing time."

"That's a new one to add to the journal," he smirked and brought his bowl of soup to his lips again and finished slurping up what remained. "So, what's the plan?" Nianzu found himself received the confused looks of everyone but Bumi, who reached up to his mother for another dose of pears. "For when we get to the Air Temple. I know we are going to meditate and all that, but come on, you don't expect us to just sit in a circle and meditate for three weeks…right?"

"You three can have fun meditating," Sokka chimed in and crossed his arms. "Have fun connecting with the energy of the universe and all that." He darted his thumb at his chest. "I'm going to watch Bumi myself for a few days. It's about time he got to spend some quality time with good ol' Uncle Boomerang."

"Please stop trying to make that a thing, Sokka…" Katara groaned in annoyance. "He won't even be able to _say_ that until he's five years old."

"And when he can, he'll know to call me that," he argued, shifting his head towards his sister.

Aang cast his brother-in-law a sideways smile, "I appreciate it, Sokka, but really, Katara and I won't be that busy. We can still—"

"Bup-bup-bup… No," Sokka interjected, waving a finger at Aang. "No, sir. I've already made my decision. You three do all your meditation stuff, and when you're done you and Katara actually be a couple for a few days. Go for walks and stuff, have some time away from the kid. Nianzu and I can handle him."

Nianzu's eyebrows shifted at the mention of his name. "I don't remember agreeing to that."

The warrior's arm wrapped around the airbender's shoulder, pulling them closer together when Sokka softly nudged the older man, "Oh, come on, Nianzu. You're practically his uncle too. You gotta take a part in babysitting him every now and then."

"I'm less frightened by the idea of babysitting him than I am about the fact that _you_ are actually volunteering," he questioned the other man.

Sokka shrugged and raised an arm in a gesture, "Hey, people change. Besides, look at those two. They _need_ a break, man…"

Aang and Katara's expressions matched perfectly: skeptical and unconvinced of Sokka's argument. "As much as I appreciate the offer," began Aang as he pulled Bumi into his lap and bounced him on his leg, earning him a fit of laughter, "Katara and I will be fine. The whole reason we brought Bumi was—"

"—because you didn't want to leave him back home for such a long time." Sokka swept a smile across his face. "You can tell the truth; which is exactly why I'm offering. Besides, I want to spend some time with my only nephew for a while. It's the perfect opportunity."

Katara bit her lip softly and thought about it. Sokka had been right. She and Aang had not been given much alone time, but that was mostly her own fault. She barely made herself available for Aang since Bumi's birth. The only real private time they spent together was when they went to bed at night, but even those nights barely consisted of them actually interacting or even just talking. In the last few months, she could feel her lover's efforts to speak to her before bed dwindling. Of course he would always tell her goodnight with a kiss, but that was the end of it. He would shift his body so that his back faced her and drift into sleep, with her following close behind him. The two had been trying to act normal when in public, but the fact of the matter was that it had mostly just been a way to convince themselves that they were okay. Her eyes drifted from the others as her mind became occupied on the thoughts. This had to be her night to make it up to him and rekindle their relationship. Though their tent was larger, the bed they had made was nowhere as large as their bed back home. Their bodies would be closer together tonight. It would give Katara the perfect opportunity to make for some nice bed conversation before they fell to sleep tonight. That was her plan, at least. Finally she brought her eyes back up to meet her brothers and smiled at him.

"Alright then, Sokka. If it means that much to you, you can start tonight if you'd like. Bumi can sleep in your tent."

Sokka nodded and gestured for Aang to send his nephew his way. He took Bumi in his arms and held him up in the air. "Hear that, buddy? You're staying with Uncle Boomerang tonight." He spoke to the child with a wide smile that made Bumi enter a giggle fit and reached to grab his Uncle's growing chin beard that made Sokka yelp in pain. The others laughed and made sure to remind him that this was what he wanted, much to his dismay.

* * *

A few hours later and the sun had set entirely and been replaced by the half-moon's glow to illuminate the darkness surrounding the woods. Nianzu and Sokka were already in their tents and off to bed for the night, with Bumi sleeping in his bassinet at the edge of Sokka's sleeping bag. This left Katara and Aang alone in their own tent, and the two had quickly changed into their undergarments and set to lay in their makeshift bed. Despite Katara planning to have an intimate night with her husband, Aang did not appear to be in the same mood. As soon as he had laid down and covered himself his body shifted to face his back to Katara's side of the bed to his wife's extraordinary dismay. She lay beside him for what felt like an hour, debating whether or not she should even attempt to talk to him. Was Aang upset with her over something? Did she do something wrong? She needed to know. After much deliberation, she slowly reached her arm out to him. Her fingers lightly touched the upper part of his tattoo on his back, allowing her fingers to glide softly down against the flesh.

"Aang…?" she called his name and scooted closer to him so that she could wrap an arm around her airbender. The moment her arm went around his frame she could tell something was bothering him. His body was stiff, as though he were in meditation, but a part of him would shiver ever so lightly. "Sweetie, is something wrong?"

The man let out a soft breath. "I'm fine, Katara…" His voice did not convince her. She tugged at his body, urging him to shift onto his back. He gave into her urges and finally came eye-to-eye with his waterbender.

"You don't have to lie to me, Sweetie," she cupped his cheek and stroked it gently with her thumb. "Last night, you were fine. But all today you have acted distant. Talk to me. What's bothering you?"

"You wouldn't understand," he forced a smile to her as he took her hand and guided it from his cheek. "It's stupid, really."

She shot him a glare and shook her head to deny the claim. "It's never stupid to me. And really, Aang, after everything we've been through together, do you really think that is a valid excuse?"

Aang expelled a melancholy sigh, "I've been thinking a lot about what Malik said, about the spirits," he admitted. "Last night, while you slept, I began to think more about what he said about the Manarki."

"Which parts?" Katara mused. "He talked a lot, Sweetie. I don't think even he understood what he was saying. I think he just liked to hear himself talk," she smiled softly.

Aang swallowed his light chuckle and reached toward his wife's face to tuck a lock of stray hair behind her ear. "No, I don't agree with a lot of what he said, but it's like I've said before. I do not believe that Spirits can be truly evil, just like humans. Imbalanced, maybe… but never pure evil."

Katara shifted her weight onto her right arm so that she could more comfortably listen to him, and Aang followed his lead by faced his chest towards her own and propping himself up on his left arm. "The Manarki never exactly showed any hint of being imbalanced, Aang. They seemed so…concrete on what they were doing."

"Because that's what they were commanded to do," Aang quickly argued. "I've been thinking about this a lot lately. It has been nearly two years, Katara, but ever since Yuan broke out we haven't heard anything about the Manarki. It seems like they just disappeared after they retreated."

Katara forced a soft shrug, "Maybe they just knew they were outmatched."

"Maybe," Aang considered, "but everything else about them seemed so primal. Sokka said they hardly spoke, that all they did was attack. They had no real plans, no strategy. They acted on brute force, as though that's all they were told to do."

"What do you think it means?" the young woman tilted her head in question.

"Well, from what I heard from Nianzu, only three of them really seemed sentient. Tomark, Yuan, and the dragon, Axil."

Katara nodded as she listened as Aang continued his explanation.

"They were the only ones who really seemed to have a free will, an active mind. The others just…listened. The spirits that sought me and Nianzu before we faced the Manarki said that they were intended to be humans, like us. The first humans, even, but they could never embrace the light. It was as though they were born of darkness itself, but out of all that, they only acted on what they were told. Maybe…just maybe, they didn't have a free will like Tomark and Yuan. Maybe they could only do as they were told."

"Which would explain why they haven't attacked anyone…" Katara noted as she joined the pieces of his argument together.

He simply nodded, "Maybe without a leader, the Manarki don't know what to do. Maybe they're just living in peace, with the rest of the spirits. Maybe…they became balanced once Tomark was destroyed."

"But what about Yuan… he could still be out there. He _is_ sentient, Aang—not to mention incredibly dangerous. He might already be controlling the Manarki, just waiting to strike again."

Aang groaned and flopped back against his pillow. "I know; that's why I feel so conflicted. If the Manarki have the potential for peace, I can't just attack them for something they have no control over…"

Katara remained at her husband's side, resting her free hand on his smooth bald head. "But with Yuan out there, he might try to take Tomark's place, Aang…" she whispered to him softly. "If he does… I'm not sure we can just capture him again."

Aang cast her a stern look, "We can, and we will. He's still human, Katara," he reminded her brusquely.

His words struck Katara with a bit of disgust. "He is _not_ human, Aang. He _was_ human, and even then he was a murderer. In case you've forgotten, he tried to kill us all on more than one occasion. He was given a chance to face the consequences." Her chilling tone was filled with aggression, her eyebrows narrowed with an irritated gaze.

"He's still a living being."

She shook her head. "Aang, I understand how you feel; really, I do… but we cannot continue to deny the fact that he's immensely dangerous! He nearly killed us both when we faced him in Wishato."

"We underestimated him," he argued firmly. "If he tries anything, we won't underestimate him."

"And if he brings the Manarki…?"

Aang reluctantly sighed. Unlike Yuan, the Manarki weren't as easily detained. While Yuan's Manarki form left him partly human and gave him a physical body, the normal Manarki spirits could move freely through most barriers. The only thing that stopped them were direct strikes that ripped apart their physical forms, rendering them into puffs of smoke that disappeared into thin air once defeated. Yuan, however, had been different. He took attacks like he were human. They affected him, but he always remained whole, and not as affected as a normal human would be. Despite his small frame, the damage he could take suggested he was practically superhuman. He still had blood in his body, as shown by Katara's (albeit unwilling) ability to bloodbend him. All these facts caused Aang to consider the fact that, while transformed by Tomark, Yuan was still partly human. Normally, Aang would consider simply taking his bending away, but Yuan didn't need just his bending. His spirit form allowed him to possess the same form of dark energybending that the rest of the Manarki utilized. Not only that, Aang feared that because of the corruption Tomark had used to turn Yuan into what he is, that using energybending to take Yuan's powers away could corrupt Aang himself, and that was not a risk he was willing to take.

Katara laid down against her frustrated husband and wrapped her leg around his waist while resting her head on his bare chest, her ear right above his heart so she could hear each time it beat. Her slender fingers began to softly stroke his chest in hopes of comforting him.

"Aang…we have to consider the fact that we may not be able to capture him like we have before. We might have to do something more drastic."

He sighed again and brought his hand to her head, stroking her brown silky hair between his fingers. Reluctantly, he eventually sighed, "I know… I just hope it doesn't come to that."

Katara threw her legs over his waist and straddled him, allowing their covers to fall from her back to reveal her full form to him as she placed her hands tenderly against his chest. She leaned down and laid a soft kiss to his lips. "If it does, we'll deal with it together, just as we always have. I love you, Aang."

"I love you, Katara." He smiled widely at her and leaned up to kiss her again, only to be forced back onto his back by her assertive hands.

She waved a finger at him. "You just lay back and relax, sweetie. You need it."

"I protest," he smirked. "You've been way too busy with Bumi lately. I think it should be me who's on top giving the orders."

She grinned at him and leaned down towards his ear, wrapping her lips around the tip of it before whispering into his ear. "It's my treat, Oh Mighty Avatar." She shifted her weight on him and found the crook of his neck, pressing her lips to the sensitive flesh and planting soft, wet kisses. He moaned softly against her. It had been so long since they had done anything like this, and he was enjoying it. He brought his hands to her upper thigh and pulled her closer, much to Katara's pleasure as she began to kiss her husband's neck more, eventually trailing down from his neck down to his shoulder, through his collar bone and eventually gliding her lips down his chest, her fingers examining every aspect of his toned torso. She eventually reached his navel and darted her tongue against the skin of it, eliciting another pleasured moan from the airbender.

He raised his head to watch her, only to have her meet his gaze with a seductive grin as she slid back up towards him and captured his lips in a feverish, longing kiss. She pressed her body firmly against his and he wrapped his arms around her to pull her closer. His hands began to reach for her bindings, but awaited for his lover's permission before taking their heat of passion further. Once she felt his hand against her upper back, she parted their lips and whispered an affirmative in the motion. Before either of them knew it, they were both stripped of their clothing. The tent was zipped closed, keeping in all of their body heat and eventually they both began to sweat as they kissed more passionately than they had done in months. Despite Katara's desire to be straddled on top of her husband, Aang's own desire took over and their bodies shifted and rolled over so that Aang now hovered over his lover. Her hair was damp and her forehead dripping in sweat, along with her lover's own body. His bald head glistened from the glow of the fire-lit lamp that gave them light until they were ready for sleep. It only made Katara more attracted to him as her hands glides down the arrow on his back. She wrapped her legs around his waist once they changed positions, pulling him closer. He seized her lips again in a passionate kiss, delving his tongue into her mouth and stroking it against her own tongue. They wrapped around another and moved around as their mouths opened wider to become as close to the other as possible.

After what felt like hours of foreplay, Katara pulled away from the kiss and brought her fingers to caress the sides of Aang's face when she nodded to him softly, signaling her approval to pursue their activities further with her legs' grip around his waist pulling him closer. He nodded softly and granted her request. Once he had penetrated her they felt finally relieved of the growing tension that had been growing between them the last few months. He leaned down kissing her lips passionately, his hands running over her body, caressing her. The moonlight just barely shined in from a slight opening in the tent, putting just enough light upon them to look at each other passionately in the heat of the moment. Aang kissed over her jawline, and Katara gasped and grabbed onto his shoulders as he began to make love to her. He pulled her body closer to his, his lips exploring every inch of her skin. Katara gasped again, and whispered Aang's name just barely under her breath. Their bodies glided against another what felt like hours as the couple shifted positions again and again. Even Katara found herself straddling her husband once again, her hands planted against his chest as she guided herself over his member, her hips rocking against his lap and taking him completely. Aang would moan loudly under the weight of his wife, his hands placed at her hips as if to help guide her, which she obviously didn't need. Their love-making dragged deep into the night until neither of them could keep it going any longer. Katara finally collapsed atop Aang's chest as the currents of their combined orgasms surged through their bodies and left them a sweaty mess beneath the covers. Aang's arms wrapped around Katara's back a final time and held her close as the two drifted on to sleep, both of them satisfied that they were finally able to close the distance in their bedroom lives.

* * *

Despite having laid down hours ago, Nianzu was still awake in his tent. He had tried sleeping in all sorts of positions. On his sides, on his back, even on his stomach, but nothing seemed to bring him to sleep. He kept tossing and turning just to try and find some form of comfort. He had tried resting outside of his sleeping bag, but became cold within twenty minutes, and bundled back into his covers. Nianzu finally found himself content with lying in bed until fatigue took over. After what felt like three hours of awaiting sleep it never came.

His nightmares of Tomark had never stopped, and he doubted they would for a very long time. He would be able to deal with the nightmares if they had been the same every time, but each one was always different. It was as though his mind had thousands of scenarios all assembled and ready to be distributed on any night it pleased. The worse part, however, was that they did not occur every night. He could also learn to deal with accepting a nightmare every night, but without any knowledge of when the next one would be was a torture of its own kind. He had to make up for his sleep in long doses, sometimes nearly sleeping for twelve hours just to make up for three night's worth of sleep. He was able to hide his lack of sleep on most days, instead focusing his mind on the tasks of the day and keeping his body awake and active. The nightmares, though, they were harder to hide. They would replay in his head throughout the day and ate away at him, reminding him the seek details of each and every one of them. He struggled to bury them on a daily basis, and for the most part he had been successful. Nianzu had to continually remind himself that the dreams were only that: dreams. They could not harm him, they could not use him. He just had to endure.

As time finally began to fade from him consciousness, Nianzu's eyelids finally fell heavy. His exhaustion was becoming overpowered, but he did not need to resist. He was ready to finally get to sleep.

 _Wake up, Nianzu…_

The voice sent a shock down the airbender's spine and he quickly jerked to face the opposite side of the tent to face the voice. It had seemed to come from behind him, but when he turned there was nothing there. The voice was eerily similar to one he knew all too well. He told himself, it couldn't be. It had to be his mind playing tricks on him.

 _You cannot protect them._

The airbender shifted his body and turned around to face the direction that the voice seemed to be coming from, but his eyes found nothing but the end of his tent. Where was it coming from? _Whom_ was it coming from? Tomark was dead; it couldn't be him.

"Where are you?" Nianzu demanded, taking a defensive and fluid crouched stance in his tent. He would be able to change positions at a moment's notice once he heard the voice again, and be able to find it. It could not escape him for long.

 _Where is the boy, Nianzu? Is he safe? Is he…alive?_

His eyes widened. As inexplicable this all was, there was something pulling at the man's heart. He wanted to ignore the voice, but just the thought of Bumi being in trouble was enough for him to spring into action. He quickly jumped from his tent and sprinted towards Sokka's, where Bumi was supposed to be sleeping. Nianzu hastily unzipped the tent and ducked into the small room. His eyes quickly scanned the area. Sokka was pleasantly asleep in his sleeping bag and Bumi was safely sleeping in his bassinette, bundled in warmth. Everything seemed normal. He let out a deep breath of relief.

"I must be going crazy…" he whispered to himself, shaking his head. It had to be his mind playing tricks on him. Lack of sleep probably, he thought. Nianzu quietly closed the tent back and spun on his heel to return to his tent. He had barely taken a step when an excruciating migraine began to pound inside his head. The pain forced a groan out of him and he quickly fell to his knees. His fists clenched the sides of his head as the pain riddled within his skull.

 _You belong to me, Nianzu. You always have, and you always will._

"No…" he denied the voice that surged through his migraine. "I am not your puppet—ahhh!" The agony brought the man to a curled up position on the ground and shaking violently. "Get out of my head!" he screamed loudly His eyes clenched shut as the excruciating torment purged through his head, and he found himself crawling towards the nearby creek, as if the water may somehow make this pain subside. Nianzu was on his hands and knees and staring at the water when he forced his eyes open, albeit only partly. He could see the image of Tomark's ghostly white face in the water and was staring him in the eye. Their eyes met and the image of Tomark gaped its mouth and released his ear-shattering screech that left Nianzu's migraine growing incredibly stronger to the point he was shouting as loud as his throat would allow.

"Leave me alone!"

Nianzu drove his hand out to the image of Tomark, his fingers curled and his palm straight. Within milliseconds of propelling his hand forward, an orb of green energy formed and grew before releasing a powerful bright emerald beam that hummed a whirring sound as it fired. The beam ripped through the image of Tomark and dissipated it into what appeared to be ash while the rest of the beam blasted into the water, producing a powerful splash that raised to dozens of feet in the air. The orb of energy in Nianzu's palm quickly died down and disappeared at the same rate that his migraine subsided. The agony had left him and he was able to finally open his eyes fully. The only thing he could see was the top of the inside of his tent. His body jerked forward in surprise and he found he was still in his sleeping bag, barely clothed and dripping with sweat. He brought his fingers to the left side of his cheek, feeling the three scars that Tomark had inflicted on Nianzu's face during their final battle. They appeared as though they were the result of an attack from an armadillo lion. They were jagged and rough, and had sliced through where a part of the airbender's beard had grown. They reached from his upper cheek down to his jawline. His fingers slowly glided across the damaged skin as he remembered his final battle with Tomark, and reflected on the ordeal he had just seemingly woken up from. He breathed a deep relieved sigh. It had to have been a dream. That was all it could have been. Without realizing it, Nianzu now knew he had fallen asleep, and another unique dream had plagued his night. But something felt different about this one. This one felt entirely real. Nianzu brought his palm up to his level of sight, curling his fingers the same way he had in a dream. He had only experienced a power like that once before in his life. That night he had destroyed Tomark, something had overcome him. Something deep inside him unlocked a power that even Aang had never known existed in the average human. Somehow…Nianzu had the ability to energybend, but it was nothing like Aang's ability to take away bending. This… this power was primal, almost ancient. It was like the same powers the Manarki had, but unlike their dark energy, this one felt like pure energy.

Nianzu focused hard on his palm, trying to refocus the chi inside him to, perhaps, build up that energy again. Unlike previous dreams where energybending had been reflected, this time the aura had been green instead of yellow or the metallic silver energy he had utilized in the actual battle. Nianzu could not help but ponder on whether this meant anything or not. His eyes narrowed tighter as he focused everything he had on his palm. His hand tightened and pulsed under the pressure, but nothing came from it. He could feel his chi building up inside him though, but it was nothing like what he felt in his dream. Finally, after what felt like an hour of focusing, he was ready to give up and growled in irritation. This was pointless. Whatever power had possessed him that night two years ago was surely all he had in him, wherever it had come from. He and Aang had discussed it on several occasions before Bumi's birth, but never found any legitimate explanation for the power. Their questions were far too many with few too many answers to them. Eventually they both assumed that perhaps it had come from Nianzu's will resisting Tomark's dark energy once the Manarki attempted to corrupt the airbender, taking the power and refining it to use against the self-proclaimed dark lord. Since then, it had never come up again and did not appear as though it would ever do so again.

"But what if…" he always asked himself. What if there was a way to bring back those abilities, and they simply needed to try harder to find it? Nianzu had attempted to convince Aang of this, but the Avatar always shrugged it off and explained that, if such a power was supposed to exist in humans, the world would have discovered it thousands of years ago. He urged Nianzu not to dwell on it, and to not let the temptation of power drive him into seeking the knowledge to permanently unlock the power. Aang insisted that doing so would likely take Nianzu down a path of no return, a hunger and thirst for those powers would drive him mad and, eventually, he would likely become everything he never wanted to be. Nianzu eventually agreed, and promised that he would never attempt to rediscover his abilities. It wasn't until tonight that the airbender began to ponder… Was it more than his resistance to Tomark's corruption? Was his energybending truly a power he had been granted to defeat the Manarki?

"Nianzu, get your lazy butt out of bed and let's get packing! We have a long flight ahead of us!"

Nianzu raised his head to the attention of Sokka's voice. "Alright, alright! I'm coming. Just… let me get dressed," he called back and climbed out of his sleeping bag and proceeded to put his clothes back on. He helped Sokka and Aang pack up the rest of the campsite while Katara helped get Bumi fed and changed for the ride ahead. Before long the four of them were in the skies again.

* * *

"I have a task for you, Yuan…" the dark spirit spoke clearly with its rasping voice, as though strained by old age.

Yuan continued to quiver at the end of his cell in the shriveled tree, slowly moving his arm to reveal his face to his captivator. Despite being imprisoned for what felt like years, he had never once seen the dark spirit's face. All he could ever see was the glowing of its eyes and cloak. Yuan was led to believe this spirit was going to give him new powers, a stronger body, and the freedom to exact his revenge on the Avatar and Katara, but since being dragged into the Spirit World he had been nothing but a prisoner. Throughout his time in the Spirit World, Yuan had been tortured numerous times by the dark entity, feeling his energy twist and turn to the spirit's will, as though he was experimenting on him.

"Yes, my Lord…" Yuan answered softly. "What is your bidding?"

"The Avatar has produced an offspring."

Yuan's eyes widened when those words were spoken, but they slowly returned to normal. He huffed, "So…even after she nearly killed him, they still had a child together."

"This is not about your petty obsession with a Water Tribe peasant, Yuan!" the Spirit raised his voice. "You will bring me the boy—alive! You will not kill him, and you will not harm him. I need his body intact."

Yuan began to raise back to his feet. "What could you need from a simple child?"

The dark spirit lowered his head. The smoke emitting from his robes began to drift towards his prisoner before slowly wrapping around the individual. It began to solidify and became tendrils that gripped Yuan tightly and bound his arms to his sides. The grip alone was excruciating enough and felt as though they were going to crush his limbs when a surge of purple electric surges pulsed through the tendrils and shot Yuan full of dark energy. Instead of bringing him strength, the energy brought an imbalance within the half-human spirit that made him feel as though he was going to explode from an overload. He screamed in agony and his body began to shake violently until he was released. He fell to his hands and knees and groaned loudly as the pain began to subside. He forced his head to raise and look into the eyes of his master.

"Please, forgive my insolence…" he took in a heavy breath to recede the shocks that ran through his body and his eyes narrowed in somewhat rage, "…Lord Erebus."

Erebus simply sneered. "Collect the boy and bring him to me."

Yuan remained on his hands and knees, out of both respect and fear. "Yes, Master…"

"Do not be foolish, Yuan. I will be watching your every move. If I get even a sense that you will go against my instructions, you will know an eternal pain that will leave you begging for your destruction," Erebus explained firmly. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Of course, Master. When should I leave?"

"Take the boy while his parents sleep. They will be alone in two days' time."

Yuan knew the risk of facing Aang and Katara for a second—no, a third time. He had escaped death by the both of them thrice, and the odds of him evading it a fourth time was incredibly unlikely. He had threatened their family time and time again, barely surviving each encounter. However, this time, he would be going after their own child. If they became even remotely aware of their child's abduction, he knew that he would surely perish, but if he did not succeed he would be tortured for eternity by Erebus. In the end, Yuan decided it would be better to die at the hands of the Avatar, than to be tortured by Erebus for failure.

"I will not fail you, Lord Erebus."

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed the new chapter. Please read and review and be on the lookout for Chapter 4 soon. Thank you for reading!**


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